The family of a much-loved great-grandma from County Durham has sent a huge birthday wish all the way from the USA as she turns 102. Ellen Young's family lives in Austin, Texas and have been unable to visit her due to the coronavirus pandemic.
At 102 years old, Ellen, who was born in Horden, has lived through a World War and helped care for her brothers and sisters as the oldest of 13 siblings. She met her husband Thomas at a young age and together they had a daughter Elizabeth Stephenson.
After the death of her husband around 12 years ago, Ellen was cared for by her daughter Elizabeth until she moved into a care home in Peterlee around four months ago. Her family in the USA has been unable to visit and said Ellen is unable to call out or receive phone calls.
But her family wants to show Ellen, who has two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, how much she means to them by wishing her a happy birthday as she turns 102 on April 25 after missing out on her 100th and 101st birthdays due to Covid-19.
Elizabeth's daughter Paula Williams moved to Texas after meeting her husband in Greece. Their daughter Kristyn Williams is born and raised in Texas but remembers fondly visiting her nana each year.
Kristyn said: "We would visit every year or couple of years but that has stopped since Covid-19. We haven't been able to visit her but we just want to show her in some way how much she's missed, loved, and celebrated.
"Every single person gets older but to get to 102 and still have all your faculties about you is incredible."
Kristyn recalled fondly taking trips to Crimdon Dene beach with her nana, eating fish and chips and collecting shells. She said: "I remember we would go down to the beaches at Crimdon and we would collect shells and eat fish and chips. We have lots of good memories.
"When I was very young she gave me her pearl necklace I have had it since I was about 10 and it's one of the things I treasure the most."
She also said her husband "fell in love" with her nana after being introduced. Kristyn said: "I remember I took my husband over before he was my husband to meet my gran and my nana and he absolutely fell in love with my nana just because she told him so many stories. She's a great conversationalist.
"They were sitting out on the patio and they were just talking for hours, really full-on, engaging conversations. She's my nana and we have great talks but this was just two people who weren't related that were just vibing."
Kristyn's mum Paula described how Ellen cared for all of her siblings and was "very family orientated". She said: "Because she was the eldest of 13, she would look after them all. It's a big family and all of us lived in Horden and Peterlee. When I lived in Peterlee there were always some family members around, she is very family orientated.
"She's very sweet, she would do anything for anybody, it was all about family for her. She didn't work once she got married but she looked after my mum and her sisters and brothers.
"My mum, who is 81, was looking after her for the last few years in her house but it got to the point where she needed more care but she doesn't think she's old. My sister told me when she went to the nursing home, she looked around and said: 'There's a lot of old people here'.
"She knows how old she is but she doesn't feel it. When people see old people I think some can just make assumptions but they can still offer something to everyone. Not everyone can sit and talk to someone who is 102 and hear all their stories. We wish we could be there on her birthday."
