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By CATHY SMITH
Rappakannock Nun Contributing Wrltar
When I called Mrs. Doris Tolbert Jennings recently to wish her happy 100th birthday, her words were, "I made it; I did it! (reach 100). She was bom to George and Mary Lawson Tolbert on September 4, 1886 in Amissville, Virginia.
Her exciting career -included a chance to meet and cook for First Lady Jackie Onassis Kennedy in 1962, her last official act before retiring.
I sat in awe recently as Mrs. Jennings shared many special memories. She was so mentally alert it was hard to believe she was about to celebrate her 100th birthday.
The big celebration happens(ed) Saturday, September 7, at Culpeper's Lakeside Club House, where over 300 guests (including 200 family members) helped her celebrate. Her niece, Alberta Brown coordinated the event.
Mrs. Jennings was also honored at her church, Amissville Bethel Baptist, on a recent Sunday where a dinner was planned and planting of trees and flowers in her honor took place.
Mrs. Jennings considers Bethel Baptist her home church. She said, ”1 was first taken there at the age of 3 by my grandmother, Matilda Tolbert. The Tolberts had been slaves, but my mother's people, the Lawsons, were never slaves. They came over with the settlers and it was written in the British Crown they were never to be sold."
Mrs. Jennings became an ordained deaconess and missionary while she was in New York, returning here in 1962 to establish Missionary Baptist work here, earning her the 1995 "Woman of the Year" award by the Wayland Blue Ridge Baptist Association. She was recognized for a lifetime of dedication to helping others. The inscription reads, "Proverbs 31:10 and 20, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies' and 'She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy."
When asked the secret of her long life, she remarked, "Helping others is the key; also, I usually had one hardy meal a day (lunch), and only a small amount of meat but alot of greens and salads."
She said, "I built this house as a "friend to man" so I could better help others by being here on the road; (Waterloo Road in northern Culpeper County) that's what I've been doing all my life-helping others.
She built the house after her husband died in 1962 and she sold their farm. They had worked in New York and saved money to purchase a 175acre farm on the Rappahannock River in Amissville. Her husband died the week before she retired, he had been working the farm while she stayed in New York to work and send money home ort which to operate the farm.
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