There were celebrations in Tenby this week when Mrs. Renee Kelly, a resident at Belmont Court, enjoyed her 100th birthday party.
Renee, or 'Neenee' as she is affectionately known by her grandchildren, turned 100 on Monday, with staff and family putting on a birthday bash for the birthday girl on Wednesday afternoon.
A native of Liverpool, Renee was the youngest of 10 children. Her father John Quinn died when she was very young and during her working life her mother Mary worked in haulage and antiques.
Renee lived in Aintree for most of her life, where her husband Jack owned a motorcycle shop. Later when the couple moved and settled in Pembrokeshire, they ran the Boars Head pub in Templeton.
The couple had three children, daughter Shelagh and son Jack, who have both passed away, while Renee's surviving daughter Shirley, who lives in Santa Monica, California, with her family, made the trip back to celebrate her mum's landmark birthday.
Renee, who was predeceased by her husband, was a keen singer and dancer in her younger days, as her daughter Shirley remembers.
"During wartime, mum and dad used to have a lot of American officers at the house for parties and she would sing at shows for troops," reminisced Shirley. "They held a lot of parties at the Boars Head, the headmaster of the local school played the piano and his son played the sax.
"Mum sang at a club in New York once and got us all free drinks, while both her and dad used to go dancing every week at Reece's Grill in Liverpool," she added.
Renee has also travelled all over the world over the years, going on safari in Nairobi, as well as visiting Mombassa, Hong Kong, Japan, Beirut, Honolulu, Nassau, Morocco, Spain, Italy, San Francisco, New York and Massachusetts. She has also flown on Concorde and been aboard the QE2.
"I know that I speak on behalf of all her relatives that Neenee remains an inspiration to us all and we all owe her so much," said John, one of her grandchildren, along with Tracee, Sara and Lisa.
Renee, who continues to live her life guided by one simple principle - have fun and live life to the full - has a liking for brandy and chocolate. Let's hope she received plenty of both to celebrate her 100th!