There’s nothing more refreshing on a hot day in the Bayou than a glass of lemonade and a slice of cake in a small town to celebrate the birthday of a centenarian. When Friday, July 23, 2010, was proclaimed “Josephine Guy” day in Zachary, Louisiana, by then-Mayor Henry Martinez marking a major milestone, it was the 106th anniversary of the Bank of Zachary and its oldest customer, Josephine Guy, was also 106 years old at the time.
Born in 1904, this past Jan. 4, Guy celebrated her 111th birthday, making her one of the oldest living persons in the U.S. Misao Okawa of Japan is currently the oldest living person in the world. She will turn 116 on March 5, 2015.
A mother of six, with a host of grandchildren, great grands and great great grands, Guy was born in Mississippi but spent most of her life in Baywood, Louisiana, in the northeast corner of East Baton Rouge Parish.
A great-nephew, Malik Ismail, is in awe of his great aunts, including Guy’s younger sister, Daisy Anderson Square, 90, who he says are “going on strong.”
A lover of sports, with her favorite song being “Play Ball Boys,” she’s lived a healthy life and remained very active in her garden until she turned 100.
According to Ismail, Aunt Josephine’s tips to longevity are:
1. Keep God first.
2. Cherish family.
3. Don’t eat your food out of a can.
At press time, rolling out received correspondence that Josephine Anderson Guy passed away peacefully on Monday, Feb. 2, 2015.
Ismail cherishes her memory, “What a life she lived at 111-years-old! What her eyes have seen … My Aunt Everlasting.”
(Photos courtesy Malik Ismail)
