On Aug. 3 in 1923, Calvin Coolidge took over as president of the United States after the passing of Warren Harding, and just the day before, Nellie Jackson, a resident at the Cottages of Dartmouth Village, was born. 

Spending most of her life in Trenton, New Jersey, Nellie joined the Cottages in December 2023, according to her son, Ray Jackson, of Tiverton, Rhode Island. 

On Friday, Aug. 2, the Cottages held Nellie a party themed around the 1920s, with live music and a birthday cake topped with candles that wrote out “101.”

Ray said for “selfish reasons,” seeing his mother reach this age at least lets him know there’s longevity in the family, but he added, “it’s just nice she is able to magnify her life, endure her life at 101 years old.”

While he was growing up, Ray said his mom was always an active member of their church and made sure to instill “a lot of morals and values into me as far as how to respect people, especially women.”

She was a hard worker too, who would walk to work whenever she didn’t have a car, Ray said.

He added she was quite “motherly” and would soften the behaviors of his “strict” and “stern” father. 

“She really looked out for me,” Ray said.

He recalls delivering newspapers as a kid, and one day when he was sick Nellie covered his route for him. He also remembers not too long after he tried to pretend to be sick so she’d do it again, but she caught his ruse.

Nellie enjoys music, art and crossword puzzles that help keep her mind sharp, Ray said. She still sends out birthday cards and is “very active” on her cellphone.

She has one friend who she calls almost every day and others she’ll often reach out to, he added. “She initiates them. She doesn’t wait for people to call her.”

However, Ray said though Nellie may talk to the same person two to three times a day, she always keeps it brief and to the point.

“She’s just a happy person — she really is — and very giving of herself,” he said. 

“She really enjoyed the finer, simpler things in life,” he added. “She wasn’t into a lot of animation or exaggeration.”

She cooked, cleaned, took care of the kids and “kept my dad in order” and now has lots of grandchildren “who really care about her,” Ray said.