There was a celebratory mood on Thursday November 10, 2022, in Porters St. James, as family members of Kathleen Shepherd-Hutson (affectionately known as “Kathmum”) joined together in wishing their matriarch a happy 100th birthday.
Mrs. Shepherd-Hutson, who lives in the United States of America (USA), returned to Barbados this month along with several family members for the big occasion.
President of Barbados, Her Excellency The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, paid a special visit via Zoom as part of the celebrations.
Canon Wilbourne Austin of St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Bloomfield Connecticut, and son-in-law of the Mrs. Shepherd-Hutson, opened the celebrations with a prayer.
When asked by Her Excellency “how are you today?” the centenarian replied: “I’m pretty good thank you. I’m so happy to have all of my relatives around me.”
Mr. John Shepherd, the centenarian’s first son, paid tribute to her, noting that she had been a great mum; keeping them always on the right path.
“She taught us good from bad. She was very strict; as most Barbadian moms were…. It is a great privilege to be here to celebrate her 100th birthday with all of my siblings and all of our families,” he remarked.
Her first daughter, Mary Austin, stressed the centenarian was stricter with her daughters. She shared: “It’s customary in Barbados for everyone to be in church, and we were no different… I was a Seventh Day Adventist, and we had a youth group…. Although it was church, my mum didn’t allow me to go to every function.”
Explaining her mother’s reason for this, she said the centenarian thought it was important that people ask “where is Mary Shepherd?” rather than say “there is Mary Shepherd, again”.
Born in Windy Hill, St. Joseph, Mrs. Shepherd-Hutson worked as a seamstress and was invited to teach needlework at the Alleyne School, which she did. Lauding the school, she stated it was one of the first, if not the first secondary school on the island to introduce needlework to the curriculum.
After retiring, she eventually moved to the USA in 2002, to live with her first daughter (Mrs. Austin) and son-in-law, both of whom enjoyed having her with them.
Over there, she was active in the church and this has not changed as she is known to attend two different services, each Sunday.
In addition to this, Mrs. Shepherd-Hutson enjoys crocheting, embroidery, sewing, Word Search and watching wrestling. Pointing out that she loves cou cou with anything, the centenarian told everyone this was because she never had it as a child.: “The first cou cou I ate, I cooked…when I was nearly forty,” she declared.
Her Excellency, surprised by the centenarian’s penchant for watching wrestling, inquired as to what led to this interest. The centenarian quickly and spiritedly responded: “I don’t ever miss wrestling…I like the boxing but when the wrestling came on oh my goodness!”
On behalf of the President, Aide-de-Camp, Lieutenant Wiggins presented the centenarian with a bottle of wine, a bouquet of flowers and a personalized card.
After reading the card, Kathleen Shepherd-Hutson thanked Her Excellency for the gifts and told her: “I am indeed grateful, I never expected anything like this. I hope you see as many birthdays as I have seen”.
In closing, Her Excellency returned the sentiments and wished the centenarian many more birthdays ahead, adding “whatever you do today, please enjoy your day”.
Mrs. Shepherd-Hutson, a widower, was married twice and has six children, 12 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.
