Oswald's Big Century

In the year when Oswald Cohen was born, the world was a much safer place to live in. Henry Ford sold 10,000 cars and Father's Day was founded. The first case of sickle-cell disease was diagnosed. An army medic introduced the use of tincture of iodine as a disinfectant for wounds and there were still no Band-Aids or antibiotics.

Today, all that has changed, and at 100 years old, Cohen is a lot older, a lot wiser and is surprisingly spry for a man so advanced in years. That was more than enough reason for family and friends to converge on the affable senior's Manor Park, St Andrew, residence to toast his health and celebrate the milestone he had achieved on Sunday, May 2.

The air was still, so fans worked overtime as female guests tried to retain their cool composure while keeping the mosquitoes away. Cohen and his wife of 63 years, Vera, sat and basked in the love of everyone present. An electrical engineer by profession, he worked at Jamaica Cold Storage for 30 years. That was followed by a brief stay in the United States of America with his wife, who was a registered nurse. They returned home in 1988.

Born in Bailey's Vale, St Mary, Cohen, who attended Beckford and Smith school (now St Jago), practised anger management by jumping into his car and going for a drive.

"By the time he returned, all would be forgotten," his daughter Norma told Outlook. His main passion was his car so it's not surprising that Cohen was not pleased when in 1994, his family took his car keys away.

looks younger

The elder Cohen, who looks at least 10 years younger than his age, is still very active. His daughter told Outlook that he will call one of his two regular cabs and take a trip to the supermarket or to the bank. He now spends most of his time sleeping, something he loves to do. His other pastimes are watching the popular soap opera, The Young and The Restless, and browsing the pages of the newspaper. His favourite foods are ice cream, cheesecake and ham (he personally buys the latter every year).

The Cohens seem to be favoured with long life Flo Cohen, the only sibling of the centenarian, is 91 years old, and Vera, his wife, is 94. They have enjoyed a harmonious marriage. So Sunday's festivities started with a blessing by the Reverend Monique Campbell of St Andrew Parish Church, where the Cohens worshipped.

After cutting his cake, Cohen said his wish was for another hundred years!

Among the guests were: Heather Cohen, Tony Cohen, Laurel deMercado, Dorothy Sanguinetti and son Garth, Mary Sorum, Amy Tracey, Yvette Anderson, Cecil Warren, Leslie and Letitia Gareave, Phyllis Cummings, Diana Baccas, Byron Lee Jr, Keith Lyn, who entertained beautifully, Leslene Davis, Pam Bodden, Carmen Patterson, Lola Anderson, Lillyclaire Bellamy, Michael Davis, Walter Davis and son Walter Davis Jr.