Phyllis is still ‘snooker loopy’ at 105ONE of Hampshire’s oldest residents has celebrated her 105th birthday.
Phyllis Shelley has lived in the Southampton area almost all her life, having moved from Cheshire to Totton with her parents at the age of three.
After leaving school she worked at a fruit and vegetable shop before switching jobs and doubling her weekly wage from five to ten shillings.
At one stage she was nanny to the children of Hampshire boxer Joe Beckett, who won 19 of his 28 fights. The Wickham-born fighter retired in 1923 and died in 1965, aged 72.
After getting married Phyllis worked at a family-run off licence at Blackfield Corner, opposite the former Hampshire Yeoman pub – now a convenience store.
Her husband Ted, an engineer at Fawley refinery, died in his mid-fifties.
Phyllis lived at New Road, Blackfield, before moving to Heathlands Court in Beaulieu Road, Dibden Purlieu, where fellow pensioners gathered to help her celebrate her birthday.
“My father lived until he was 97 and my mother until she was 93, but I never expected to get to 105,” she said.
Phyllis was an avid knitter in her younger days and made herself a new dress every Christmas as well as keeping Oakhaven Hospice in Lymington supplied with blankets. Despite her failing sight she loves watching snooker on TV.
One of her daughters, Wendy Yateman, flew over from her home in New Zealand for the celebrations. Another daughter, Janet Collier, travelled from Spain.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here