New Amsterdam woman, ‘Miss Irene’ celebrates 100th birthday

She was born 100 years ago, on November 18, 1924. On Monday ‘Miss Irene’ as she is popularly known as, became a centenarian.
As a child, she was Irene Douglas D’Souza but became Irene Douglas D’Souza-Plass when she got married to her first husband. That marriage bore one child.
Miss Irene subsequently married a second time but much was not said about her first marriage to her children as she became Irene Douglas D’Souza-Plass-Ferdinand.
The union with Ferdinand, a security guard and coconut vendor who is referred to as being a popular character in New Amsterdam, yielded two children.
Her second husband passed away in 1976 at age 48. Since then, Miss Irene continued to make a living as a domestic worker to raise her children. One of her three has since passed.

Her eldest child Elizabeth Sinclair told Guyana Times that her mother grew up at Vryheid, which in those days would have been considered on the outskirts of New Amsterdam.
She attended Roman Catholic Girls School which is today known as St Therese’s Primary. She was a Catholic then but later in her life became a Seventh-Day Adventist. However, she is not an ardent churchgoer now because of her failing health.
About one decade ago Miss Irene was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease which has affected not only her memory but other functions of her body. Miss Irene is visually impaired and also suffers from a severe hearing impediment. Sinclair said there is only one family member, who understands her when she tries to communicate and most times it is to indicate what she needs. Her children including her 63-year-old son were with her to celebrate the milestone. She has 12 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and 17 great-great-grandchildren. (G4)