PAOLI – Nina Blanche Lewis, born and raised in the Paoli area, turns one hundred and two years old today.
Born September 26, 1921, Nina married her husband Clifford Lewis, born in 1915 and six years her senior, in 1938 when she was only sixteen years old. Together, they started a farm and raised 4 children.
Nina’s grandson, Rick Jones said that while Nina has trouble hearing now, her eyesight is as strong as ever. She has the smallest, neatest writing, and has no problem reading it.
She also reportedly likes to write poetry and has spent a lot of time sewing. She has made upwards of 100 aprons for people she has known over the years.
Rick Jones, Nina’s grandson, said that she never spent a night away from home after she was married. Every night she and her husband were back home for the evening, and they liked it that way. The only times she spent the night elsewhere was when she was having her kids.
From sewing and mending clothes to helping with farm work and milking the cows, Nina Lewis was a productive, busy mother.
Nina and her husband were married for 59 years, until his death in 1997.
When she was a young girl in the early 20th century, she and her sister began to sing at their church.
Nina said she “had to hold on to my father’s hand for it,” to keep her from being too shy. She and her sister sang together up until several years ago.
Nina no longer lives on the farm, but she does live at home. Nina is the oldest living generation of the five in her family including grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.
From 102 years old to 3 years old, the age gap from Nina to her great-great-grandchild is almost 100 years by itself.
Nina is a cheerful, lovely soul who fondly looks back on her past and is loved dearly by her family. After a life of hard work on a farm, while she raised her children and loved them and her husband, she lives a quiet life in the same area she grew up in.
The farm is meticulously maintained, and will eventually be passed on to Nina’s children. It remains a beautiful and functional plot of around 100 acres.
To see someone still living with such a peaceful, long life, is both amazing and heart-warming. Not everyone makes it to such a grand age, and the difficulties of outliving your friends and family are no doubt a trial.
Nina Lewis has made it with her happiness intact, and that’s something to be glad of.
