Ozella's 100th Celebration

A century and counting: Local woman celebrates 100th birthday
~~The Paris News~~
Photos by Klark Byrd
Article by Julia Furukawa

Perched comfortably in her wheelchair with a sash reading “100 & Fabulous” draped across her chest, Ozella Lilly waved as a train of more than 30 cars packed with friends and family cruised by. She thanked each and every one of them, a smile hidden behind her face mask.

Not many people can say they’ve been around for a century, but Lilly is one of the few, celebrating her 100th birthday on Wednesday.
 “She is the sweetest lady that you will ever meet,” said Monica Oliver, activity director at Stillhouse Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, where Lilly lives. “She didn’t want gifts for her 100th birthday. She said ‘If you have extra money, just give it to someone who needs it.’”

Due to Covid-19, Oliver and the Stillhouse team couldn’t welcome guests into the residence for a normal celebration, but that didn’t stop community members from getting together for a parade to show their appreciation for Lilly. Oliver said she is loved inside and outside of Stillhouse.

“She’s just as sweet as she can be and the other residents love her,” Oliver said.

Lilly was born in Chattanooga, Oklahoma, and moved to Paris in 1951. She raised three children with her husband, Luther. She soon joined the Lamar Avenue Church of Christ and remains a staple in the community there to this day. Dozens of friends she met through her faith showed up to celebrate her, honking their horns and waving signs from their car windows.
 For Lilly, her church didn’t just give her friends, it provided her a connection with the Lord that she said is the reason she’s been able to live such a long and full life.

“I know I wouldn’t have reached this age if I didn’t have the Lord’s help,” Lilly said.

As cars rolled past, one of Lilly’s nine grandchildren, Cindy Jenkins, filmed off to the side. Jenkins said Lilly was the culinary expert of the family, cooking up delicious meals for everyone and giving them recipes they still use to this day. Her favorite: Lilly’s asparagus casserole.

“With her being (at Stillhouse), we definitely all miss her cooking,” Jenkins said. “We all like to make her recipes on holidays.”

Looking on at her grandmother surrounded by family, Jenkins said she cherishes memories of spending time with Lilly during her childhood summers.

“Me and one of my cousins used to come in the summers and spend a week with her, and it was kind of like camp with our grandma,” she said. “So she would take us around, and we’d go swimming and just hang out with her. It was so nice.”
 Jenkins was joined by her father, Ken Lilly, who also attested to her prowess in the kitchen, and thanked her for a childhood full of fun and freedom to roam and play with friends — as long as he was always home for dinner. Even though he couldn’t hug her or hold her hand like he normally would’ve, Ken made the trip from Dallas to be there with his mother on her landmark birthday.

“I’m just here to wish her well and say ‘Keep up the good work, Mama. You’re doing good,’” Ken said, waving at Lilly.

Although she didn’t have a cake adorned with 100 candles to make a wish, Lilly said she does have one hope for this milestone of a birthday: to be reunited with

her community.

“I would wish we could get back like we were before all of this we’re having to go through right now and that we could be together,” she said. “I think that would help everybody.”