Living to the age of 101 is no ordinary milestone — it’s a remarkable journey worth celebrating, and that’s exactly what family and friends did for Amoy De Leon, honouring her incredible life with a special Diamond Birthday Party in Gran Chemin, Moruga.
Born on June 8th, 1924, Amoy De Leon was celebrated like a queen for crossing the line to reach 101.
Originally from the village of Rancho Quemado in South Trinidad, Amoy loves the festivities at Christmas time, especially parang.
Her daughter, Suzanne, spoke of her love for parang: “She used to tell us years ago when she was in her parents’ house, when a parang reach they all will get dressed and dance. She say we didn’t have no malice. We all dancing and they enjoyed that.”
The centenarian recalled growing up on an estate where her mother and father used to pick cocoa. One memory that stands out is fetching water from nearby springs with her siblings as they prepared for church on Sundays.
“Saturday, we filling a barrel with water from the spring, putting it on we head, allyuh won’t do them kind of thing, see how much water we used to get in bucket, putting it on our head, me and my sister.”
Amoy, the eldest of nine children, is fondly remembered as a mother to all of her siblings.
One sister said: “She always obey our parents and as Jesus say if you obey your parents your days shall be longer and so do I wish her maybe another century, because she take care of me when I was small, and teach me right from wrong and good from bad.”
She later got married and moved to Moruga and had six children of her own.
At 101, Amoy has outlived five of her siblings, her husband, and two of her very own children.