VERA THOMPSON was born, Vera Isaacs, on June 19, 1920 at Ipswich in St. Elizabeth.
Her 81st birthday, recently, was just another day in her life, except for the more than normal telephone calls from her friends and family.
As a child, she went to the Moravian Elementary School in her district and being a "fast learner" she reached sixth book when she was twelve. The headmaster, teacher Royes, therefore used her as a Pupil Teacher for the next three years.
After leaving the schoolroom she learnt sewing and embroidery which she still does today. She then left the country and worked for a while at a Nursing Home at 70 Half-Way Tree Road in St. Andrew, hoping the experience would help her enter the Jubilee Hospital to be trained as a nurse. Unfortunately, this was not to be and she entered Carron Hall Vocational School in St. Mary.
When she left Carron Hall she worked at various places including Phang's Milk Store on East Queen Street. In due course she married Jonathan Thompson, a truck operator. They lived for a while at 96 Duke Street, at a home he bought, and which is now a mini Park opposite Gordon House. In the meanwhile she went to work at a number of shops owned and operated by the Issa family, and later with the Hanna Group of Companies as a Floor Walker.
The Thompsons parented four children, Janet who is now a physician in the USA; John, an attorney in Kingston; Judith, a town planner in New Jersey and Victor an engineer in North America.
Vera Thompson retired from active employment in 1980. Her early years as a nursing assistant gave her the experience to take care of her husband until he died two years later.
She is as active today as she was in her earlier years. She still sews, and she also bakes. Every week, she takes her cookies and other delicacies to the Moravian Church in Harbour View for the Sunday School children and members. She also does voluntary work at the Church Clinic on Saturdays and has also been active in teaching JAMAL classes and home economics.
On one journey by bus to Harbour View some time ago she was standing beside the conductor when a man entered the vehicle and after failing to rob the conductor, shot him. It was a traumatic experience. She was not even aware that her dress was splattered with blood until she arrived at Harbour View. Her son, John, who had been pleading with her unsuccessfully, to stop riding on the bus, finally persuaded her to allow him to provide her with a car. He also arranged for a driver to come for her when she was going to church or shopping or visiting friends. However, this arrangement did not last for long as she found the driver unreliable. Actually, she says, she missed the contact with people.
She is once again travelling on the bus and heaps praises on the new buses and the drivers and conductors who operate them.
When she is not engaged in voluntary work she listens to radio programmes, especially Love FM and Ralston McKenzie's programme on Sundays. She also watches the news, and the "Jeopardy" and the JIS programmes on television.
"What about the radio talk show programmes?" I asked.
Oh, no," she replied. "Some of them are too sleazy."
By Hartley Neita, Contributor
