103 and going strong Family celebrates Nellie Pennycooke’s remarkable journey

When Nellie Pennycooke celebrated her 100th birthday in 2023, it was more than a milestone. For her family, it was the answer to years of prayers following a medical emergency that once left them fearing the worst.

Now 103, the retired postmistress and mother of seven remains in remarkably good health, but daughter Joan Pennycooke-Perry remembers vividly the heart attack her mother suffered in November 2006 at age 83 that left them worried.

“November 6, 2006, about 3 a.m., I only heard my name being called, and by the time I moved to her room, I saw her falling to the ground,” Pennycooke-Perry recalled.