ST. CROIX — Augustine Guthrie reminisced about growing up on St. Maarten, working as a housekeeper in Aruba, and moving to St. Croix in the late 1970s while celebrating her 105th birthday today with friends and family at her Estate Whim home, which was decorated with balloons, party streamers, and a “Happy Birthday” banner.
Born August 1, 1919 on the Dutch side of St. Maarten, Guthrie celebrated her special day with about 15 to 20 family members and friends.
“I love them all,” she said.
Guthrie, who uses hearing aids and is aware of her surroundings, said it gave her a “wonderful” feeling to reach 105 years old.
“I feel happy about that,” she said. “Thank God that he has brought me through to this day.”
A strong-willed woman with a deep faith in God, Guthrie used to attend Bethel Methodist Church in Frederiksted. She has shared her faith with her family. She also acknowledged her faith when asked about her birthday wish.
“Thanking God that he has spared my life to reach to this day,” she replied.
Ivana Illis, Guthrie’s great-great-niece, said she was grateful and thankful to God that Guthrie made it to 105. She shared what the birthday celebration meant to her.
“I am so amazed, I’m thrilled, I’m so happy she made it to 105; that means we have good genes,” Illis said. “Hopefully, I make it to 105. Her secret she told us is that we have to pray, pray, pray and believe, so that’s what I’m working with.”
Guthrie said her best memories growing up on St. Maarten were going to the Dutch school.
“I paid attention to what I was told,” she said.
She said she didn’t have time to play as a child, noting her schoolwork came first.
“In those days we had no time for games,” she said. “We had to work very hard.”
When she left St. Maarten, she relocated to Aruba at 19 years old. When she wasn’t cleaning houses for a living in Aruba, she recalled dancing the merengue among other styles.
“I could have danced anything,” she said.
Guthrie said the most important part of her life is her family. She has been married twice. Her first husband, a childhood friend from St. Maarten, was James Milton. He moved to Aruba to be with her. She met her second husband, Kenneth L. Guthrie, in Aruba. He moved to St. Croix ahead of her. She then followed him to The Big Island. Both of her husbands are deceased.
Guthrie, who speaks English, Dutch, French, and Papiamento, a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean, has lived in her Estate Whim home since the late 1970s when she relocated to St. Croix. She had five children — Julia Milton, Anselmo Milton, Emilio Milton, Alfonso Milton, and Kenneth E. Guthrie. Emilio and Alfonso Milton are deceased. Julia Milton lives on St. Maarten, Anselmo Milton lives in Holland, and Kenneth E. Guthrie lives on St. Croix.
Julia Milton and Kenneth E. Guthrie joined in today’s birthday celebration.
Julia Milton, who retired as a social worker on St. Maarten, said she always makes it a special point to visit her mother once or twice a year because she is dear to her heart.
“I am 74, and having a mother at this age is truly a blessing,” she said. “The longer she lives, the more the love grows. The love is always there but the longer she lives, the stronger the love.”
Kenneth E. Guthrie said he was grateful for all that God has done for the family.
“I feel so fortunate to have her around because she’s been an inspiration all my life, and she’s basically taught me many things and guided me, supported me all through my life, so I am very proud of her, and I love her a lot, and I’m going to make sure I honor her as much as I possibly can,” he said.
He shared some of the important life lessons he learned from his mother.
“She taught me to be very respectable, she taught me to always believe in God because she’s very much into her religion and she’s a very spiritual person, and she taught me to always be polite and try to be as helpful as much as possible and do my best,” he said.
