Barbados’ newest centenarian, Betty Warner, celebrated her birthday on November 3, at the Barbados Yacht Club, surrounded by family, friends, and one of her specially invited guests, President of Barbados, Her Excellency The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason.
One of the centenarian’s daughters, Sonia Field, in her tribute, said her mother, affectionately known as “Guggie”, had many talents and “truly excelled” in all that she put her mind to do.
“Many of you don’t know that “Guggie” used to shoot small bore rifle at the back of Drill Hall … and she was a pretty good shot,” she said.
Mrs. Field praised her mother’s cooking, noting that the centenarian cooked by taste and not by a recipe. “In her kitchen, she turned out delicious meals, especially at Christmas time. Her jug jug, pepperpot, trifle, coconut bread, Christmas plum pudding, and brandy sauce were all legendary. She truly excelled,” she remarked.
One of Mrs. Warner’s granddaughters, Amoy Gilding-Bourne, remarked that her grandmother “had a zest for life, when she was in her prime”. She added: “It always used to amaze me when I saw her in an exercise leotard…either doing the downward dog, the backward twist or the forward-facing bend…”.
The centenarian was also credited with passing on a number of skills to her children and grandchildren. Ms. Gilding-Bourne noted that her gran was a lover of fruit trees; she manicured her lawns and tended to her flowers.
“And that is also another characteristic, on top of music, that has also passed down through all the generations, myself included. As a very proud registered farmer, we are all daughters of the soil,” she added.
Mrs. Warner, whose alma mater is Queen’s College, spent most of her professional life at Alleyne Arthur & Hunte Ltd. (previously Alleyne Arthur) as an accountant, until retirement. She came out of retirement, at the request of her daughter Sonia, to work at the insurance brokerage company, Field Insurance Brokers, where she performed accounting and banking duties, until the end of her stint there.
Over the years, Mrs. Warner has enjoyed gardening, with a special focus on flowers and fruit trees, marksmanship, cooking, travelling, exercising, playing the piano and spending time with her family, passing many skills and talents onto them in the process. The family took to calling Mrs. Warner “Guggie” after one of her grandsons, as a child, called her “guggie” rather than “granny”.
Commodore of the Barbados Yacht Club, Peter Thompson, raised a toast to the centenarian, noting that as a child “Mrs. Warner and her family were not even allowed on the beach of the Barbados Yacht Club, even though they lived “a stone’s throw away”.
Mr. Thompson continued: “Today, however, we celebrate the life of Mrs. Warner in this historic ballroom at the Barbados Yacht Club…. Congratulations on reaching the milestone of 100 years.… You have done well, fought the good fight, and passed life’s values and principles to your family. Well done!”
Dame Sandra presented the centenarian with a bouquet of flowers, a bottle of non-alcoholic wine, and a personalised card.
In her closing remarks, Dame Sandra stated: “I am sure that we are going to take good care to make sure she stays here a much longer time…. My congratulations and best wishes go out to her and to you for helping her celebrate this most memorable occasion.”
Mrs. Warner was married to Cecil Warner, now deceased. She has two children, six grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and 17 great-great-grandchildren.
