CHAPTER CLOSED – Westmoreland resident dies at age 110; her daughter still alive at 91
May 25, 2020
Albertha Davis
Albertha Davis surrounded by relatives on her 109th birthday
Albertha Davis poses with her twin sister and two of her children
Albertha Davis making chocolate for her family and friends
Gertrude Barr, the 91-year-old daughter of the late Albertha Davis
The community of Williamsfield in Westmoreland has lost its eldest resident, Albertha Davis, who died of natural cause at age 110.
She passed away at her home on May 19.
She was the second eldest person in Westmoreland at the time she died, said her daughter and main caregiver, Agrie Richardson-Stephenson.
She disclosed that her mom’s only medical issue was glaucoma.
She developed the illness in recent years, and had been bedridden since.
Richardson-Stephenson told The Beacon that her mom was in high spirits until she swiftly deteriorated within the last two weeks of her life.
“My mother was such a loving and caring mother and grandmother. She gave almost all her grand-children a goat from her farm,” Richardson-Stephenson said.
Her late mother worked as a farmer, a domestic helper, and a cleaner at a bakery.
She recalled: “My mother usually worked with the former Custos of Westmoreland – now deceased – Mr. Jim Thompson, who owned and operated a bakery in Williamsfield. At that time, there was no pipe water and she had to visit the Venture River and carry water on her head to supply the bakery.”
The late Davis also walked approximately two miles between the districts of Williamsfield and Grange to work as a domestic helper in order to support her family, including 10 children.
“Back in those days, she had to place the metal clothes iron on the wood fire. White clothes were spotless when she was finish ironing them… She was a very hard-working individual and would ensure that all her tasks were completed,” Richardson-Stephenson said.
She told The Beacon that her mother, who was a single parent, worshiped at Hebron Baptist Church in Williamsfield.
The centenarian was born on 16 March 1910 in Hanover, but she relocated to Westmoreland when she was a child.
She had a twin sister, Adlyn Davis, who was 98 years old when she died.
All of the centenarian’s siblings, as well as four of her children, predeceased her.
Her six children who are still alive are Gertrude Barr, Beryl Richardson, Nelma Richardson-Vernon, Leroy Richardson, Amanda Richardson, and Agrie Richardson-Stephenson. Gertrude, who is the eldest, is 91 years old.
The late Davis, in the meantime, has 35 grand-children, 68 great-grands, and 37 great-great-grandchildren.
Her family is still making funeral arrangements.
By Horace Mills, Journalist
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