Lorraine McKinnon lives in her Ladner bungalow with her colourful companion, a love bird named ‘Pete’.
She has owned several love birds over the years named Pete, so she decided to call this one ‘Repeat.’
“A sense of humour is the key to a long life,” said McKinnon.
And what a long life she’s had. Today (June 22) is her 100th birthday.
Born in 1923 she is the descendant of one of the original pioneer farming families in South Delta, the Guichon’s.
Her grandfather Laurent Guichon immigrated from France, and in 1868 with his wife Peronne, bought 1,100 acres of land and created a Delta farmstead.
They built a successful farm on the Fraser River Delta with cattle and oats and had 10 children. Eventually the farm was divided amongst the siblings and McKinnon’s father Felix inherited the parcel at the far end of 41B street where she grew up.
One of McKinnon’s happiest memories is threshing day in the fall when the farm was bursting with activity. With her three siblings she would slide down the bulging sacks of grain at dusk.
She remembers long walks to Canoe Pass Elementary, and ferry rides to the mainland for shopping and visiting family.
While the Guichon’s were mostly shielded from the war, she recalls being bused to the Boundary Bay Airport with other young women to dance with the airmen who lived at the Wireless Station.
She met her husband Scott at a dance hall in Ladner Village. They raised five children in a big house on 46A Street and McKinnon loved working as a school secretary at Canoe Pass.
To call her a super senior is an understatement. She travels regularly and will be attending a wedding in Montreal soon.
She’s active in her church and makes pillows for the Delta Hospital Auxiliary pillow pal program. Lately her biggest dilemma is finding a supply of new jigsaw puzzles.
Since the pandemic she’s become obsessed with puzzels.
She eats three meals a day, sleeps well, and is lucky to have a loving family who checks in on her every day. Plus she gets as many cuddles as she can from Pete.
McKinnon can be proud of the huge contribution her family has made to our community. Five generations of farming, plus a new generation of Guichon’s that have gone into local politics and become entrepreneurs.
One hundred twenty of her nearest and dearest will celebrate in her backyard this weekend. There will be lots of laughs as the Guichon’s are a close knit family who recognize the special place this centenarian has in our local history.
Happy Birthday Lorraine!
