Jacksonville woman hits century mark; celebrates with trip to NYC

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman is celebrating a milestone–turning 100 years old.

RELATED: Dr. Hester Petty, 99, says her family experienced years of racial injustice. But they never let it defeat them

Dr. Hester Petty hit the century mark on May 17.

News4JAX first introduced her to our viewers during our Black History Month coverage in February.

Petty loves life and loves letting people know how far she has made it.

Their response to learning she is 100, she said, is usually skepticism.

She is making sure they get the message by wearing some special glasses.

As she celebrates what turned into a birthday month, friends held a “surprise birthday tea” for her at Chets Creek Church a few days before her big day.

Petty sported a huge smile throughout that day.

It was the same reaction she had during a week-long trip up to the Big Apple to celebrate turning 100 while also going down memory lane.

“I really feel that I might make another 100 [years],” Petty said.

With that mindset, she may just do it!

Dr. Petty is loving every second of being 100 years old and the experiences leading to this point.

“There is so much to learn and so much given,” she said. “The world is so big and I have not explored many parts of it. Just a fraction. I’ve been all over the world, but I still have missed so much and there’s so much more to learn.”

Petty went up to New Jersey and New York City for a week. She spent time with family and friends while also visiting places she is pretty familiar with.

The first stop in New York City was at Grand Central Station, specifically the oyster bar.

It is a place she says she and her late husband, Dr. Leon Petty, would go to often while she was in college and he worked in the city. They were married for 71 years.

“They had renovated the whole area,” Petty said. “The area that we were at there were white leather chairs, stools, everything, table cloths all around in the restaurant parts. It was really very, very interesting for New York because it was [dry] when I was there in 1947.”

Next up was a visit to the Museum of the City of New York, where her longtime friend, the late Shirley Chisholm, is celebrated with an exhibit.

Dr. Petty took in three Broadway shows: Hamilton, Wicked and MJ the Musical.

Lastly, there was a birthday meal at the hotel where she was staying.

“The chef came out with a cake,” Petty said. “They were singing, the people at the hotel, a great, great celebration. I am overwhelmed really. I cannot find words to express how wonderful and compassionate Americans are. I am so thankful and I want to thank America for it being here because I have had a big, long journey and I have lots to tell.”

She has a doctorate in education, worked for 45 years as a teacher, administrator and college professor. She has written about her family’s experiences of discrimination and perseverance while living and working in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

“The persistence,” she said about a characteristic she has maintained throughout her life. “I strongly felt I should do what I think is right. I believe that still today. If you move along and figure things out for yourself, as long as you feel strongly that you are right, you will make it.”

Dr. Petty said she is truly blessed and thankful for everything she has been able to do in life.

She said that throughout all of these celebrations, a recent encounter with a stranger really stands out involving a bouquet of flowers.

“[The woman] said I want to give these to you,” Petty said. “I said, ‘You’re giving these to me?’ She said, ‘Yes. I want you to have them.’ I love flowers and I was just overwhelmed. She said that, ‘you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen.’ It made me feel so good to know that someone, a stranger from Russia. I asked her where she is from. She said Russia. A stranger from Russia loves me.”

Love. Just one of the things that Petty says helped her make it for her first 100 years.