Still singing after 100 years

She can’t get around as well as she used to and her senses have seen better days, but even at a century old, Geneva Williamson can recite Bible verses and sing along to old hymns with the best of them.

Williamson celebrated her 100th birthday Saturday, surrounded by her family. In the days leading up to her big day, many a friend and loved one passed through the front door of her modest white house in rural Reidsville. She knows many of the folks that drive past her home and she prays for them. And if a stranger stopped by, she’d pray for them, too.

“I just pray for everybody,” Williamson said simply Thursday in her living room. That strong faith has gotten her through many trials in her life, including outliving two husbands and all her siblings.

Looking out her front door at the trees swaying in the breeze across the road, Williamson’s deep religious beliefs shone through.

“See that?” she asked, pointing at the branches. “That’s the spirit of God, that’s the Holy Spirit.”

Williamson said she was born and raised in the Reidsville area and has spent the majority of her life here. She worked in tobacco early in her life. She doesn’t have any children of her own, but was a foster mother to 12. Their portraits adorn her walls and she speaks proudly of their accomplishments.

For Williamson, the key to living to be 100 is simple.

“Get saved and lean on the Lord,” she said. “Read your Bible. See the light, walk in the light.”

Williamson is fiercely independent. She still cooks and sews some and enjoys playing her piano and singing the hymns she’s always loved. She does receive help from an aide who comes in during the week to help her with light cleaning and other tasks. She also receives Meals on Wheels from the Aging, Disability & Transit Services of Rockingham County, formerly the Council on Aging.

Williamson said the assistance she receives greatly helps her continue the kind of life she enjoys until her Lord calls her home.

“I’ve been here almost 100 years, hallelujah,” she said Thursday. “I’ve been climbing these mountains for a long time.”