100-year-old Stowmarket care home resident reveals secret to a long and happy life

Home news

May 28, 2021

A Stowmarket care home resident has celebrated her 100^th birthday, revealing the secret to a long and happy life.

Kathleen Goulson, from Care UK’s Cedrus House, on Bittern Crescent, marked the impressive milestone on 16^th May, with a visit from family, a birthday cake made by the home’s head chef, and a very special card from the Queen.

Raising a glass for the occasion with her Cedrus House family, Kathleen revealed her secret to becoming a centenarian: “It feels wonderful to have reached 100, and to be able to spend it with my family after the last year really is fantastic.

“I think the secret to a long and happy life is a contented mind – it’s important to be happy with what you’ve got. I am surrounded by family and friends, and that really is what makes life so great.”

Michelle Webster, Home Manager at Cedrus House, added: “Everyone had a brilliant time celebrating Kathleen’s 100^th birthday, and we were all incredibly excited to see her card from the Queen!  

“Here at Cedrus House, we always strive to make an occasion of birthdays, whether that’s baking a big birthday cake, decorating the home, or raising a toast to so many happy years. It was wonderful to finally be able to welcome Kathleen’s family back into the home to celebrate with us too.”

Kathleen was born in Cotton in 1921, where she lived for most of her life. After leaving school, Kathleen worked as a cleaner and in the agricultural industry. Kathleen married her husband, George, and the pair went on to have four children – Mollie, Andrew, Peter and Kenneth.

Kathleen moved into Cedrus House in 2019, where she enjoys knitting, reading history books, and keeping in touch with her four grandchildren, Mark, Trudy, Rachel and Gwilym.

Cedrus House is a modern care home which provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable its residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema and hair salon, and there is plenty of space both in and outdoors for relaxation and recreation. 

To find out more about Cedrus House, please contact Senior Customer Relations Manager, Angela Hodge on 01449 797350 or email angela.hodge@careuk.com

For general information please visit, careuk.com/care-homes/cedrus-house