she lost her husband

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Sitting on a chair in her living room, looking out of the window, centenarian Iris Rohlehr reflects that “I did it my way” and “Regrets, I’ve had a few but then again, too few to mention,”, lyrics from the great Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”, best describe her attitude towards life. And she attributes her longevity to paying no heed to worries.Ms. Rohlehr celebrated her 100th birthday last Thursday, October 6, at her John Street, Campbellville residence, which she occupies with one of her daughters. Ten years ago, she lost her husband, Johannes Rohlehr, to prostate cancer.Born in 1911, Iris Rohlehr nee Craig, witnessed the transformation of British Guiana to Guyana, when the country gained independence in 1966 from its colonial rulers, and recounts that that same year she retired as trained teacher, having taught for decades.According to Ms. Rohlehr, the possibility of any other profession did not really exist for her, as she was a black woman and did not have as many opportunities as the whites in society. She was also tasked with the responsibility of contributing significantly to her family’s wellbeing.As such, she maximized her chances of attaining an education at Collegiate School. There she graduated fourth worldwide at the General Proficiency of The College of Preceptors. However, her family’s financial situation prevented her from studying further and she started teaching at the age of 15.In 1930, Rohlehr commenced training as a teacher at the Government Training College. There she spent two years. The first school she taught as a trained teacher was St. Stephen’s in Charlestown and then went on to teach at the St. Mark’s, Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara.Whilst she was teaching, the romance with Johannes, which started during her training years, continued, and later turned into marriage. In 1938, they tied the knot and she moved to Berbice to live with her husband. However, they moved from Berbice as Johannes was given a job at the Boys’ School (now called the New Opportunity Corps) in Essequibo.Although, her husband did not fancy her teaching, a strong-willed Iris continued her teaching profession at St. John’s Anglican, Suddie. She asserted that adjusting to life in the country area was not difficult for her as she was prepared to have children and make the best of her surroundings.Her union with Johannes produced eight children. Today, seven are alive.After Ms. Rohlehr retired in 1966 she returned to Georgetown to be with her children who were attending High School. She continued to live her simple and take-each-day-easy life, and this most likely is responsible for her remarkably good health. The amiable centenarian still is an avid reader of the daily newspapers and thoroughly enjoys listening to her favourite radio programme, “Christ is the answer”.