Cumberland resident celebrates 102nd birthday

CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WLNE) — Cumberland resident Madeleine Gray celebrated her 102nd birthday alongside her family, the mayor, and other residents on Thursday.

“I think it’s amazing and I think most people think it’s amazing,” Gray’s daughter Adele Childress said.

Gray lives at the Chapel Hill Senior Living complex, and discussed her life on the milestone birthday.

“You either change it all or change nothing, and I would change nothing,” she said.

Gray said she grew up in Woonsocket, and spent her years traveling, painting, and raising four children with her late husband, who she married in 1946.

She also served as an Army nurse during the Second World War after graduating college, a choice that she said many women made at the time.

“They were after us to join,” Gray said. “That was 1944.”

Her children visited her home to celebrate her birthday.

“Not everybody gets to this point,” Childress said. “People even younger than her can have a lot of health problems but she has been really lucky and I think that’s because of her resilience.”

Gray added that she can’t wait to celebrate with her four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.