Erlinda Collins, a resident of Gray who lives at Autumn Lane Health and Rehabilitation, turned 100 years old recently and celebrated with family and friends.
Denise Collins Lumpkin, Erlinda’s daughter who lives in Gray was happy to be celebrating her mother’s birthday at Autumn Lane with everyone. She said it was a great day.
“My mother is incredibly blessed to make it to be 100 years old,” she said. “She was born in Austwell, Texas. The population was 213 people when she was born in south Texas. She ended up in Houston as a young lady, and met our father on a blind date. She dated him for six months, then they were married for 70 years.”
Lumpkin said her mother has been a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Macon since the 1970s, and very active in the church. She had five children who range in age from 55 to 75 years old. She has seven grandchildren, three great grandchildren, and one greatgreat grandchild.
“She was a very traditional mother, staying at home a lot. She made sure we had a great religious education, and she was good at keeping things together. My father had to travel a lot for his job, so she made it a smooth transition for us to handle that,” her daughter said.
Collins said she was excited to celebrate her birthday and eat some great food. She said she was glad to see her family and friends.
“I get around really well for my age. I’m glad I made it to 100 years old, and that I’m in such good shape,” she said. “It was a good day to celebrate my birthday, and I enjoyed eating. Everything was so nice.”
She enjoyed growing up in Texas. Collins said her husband was a good man, and he loved his children very much. She said now that she lives in Gray, she really likes Autumn Lane.
“It’s a nice place filled with nice people. I’m all for doing stuff here when they do things. I like Gray because there are lots of nice people. My daughter Denise lives here, and I get to see them a lot,” she said.
Her daughter said her mother and father lived in Macon, then they moved to Stonebrooke Suites in Gray. Her father passed away in 2018, then Collins lived in Milledgeville for a bit before moving to Autumn Lane a few years ago. She said her mother likes Autumn Lane.
Lumpkin said not a lot of people reach the milestone of 100 years of age, so it’s nice to be able to celebrate with friends and family. She said she’s glad her mother was able to share 100 years of memories with everyone around her.
“She absolutely had a great time celebrating her birthday. She got a letter from Governor Kemp for turning 100 years old,” she said. “That was pretty nice to receive. It was nice to be able to celebrate with her.”
