​Kincardine woman marks 90th birthday with celebration March 2

Eleanor Thompson says she is thankful every day that she can get up and do what she wants to do.

The Kincardine woman will officially be 90 years old, March 7, but plans to gather with family and friends for a celebration, March 2, in Tiverton.

Born Eleanor Surridge, March 7, 1934, in the Kincardine Hospital, she is the daughter of James Surridge and Christena “Tena” Kinmond.

“It was a stormy day when I was born,” she recalls, “and it’s been a stormy day every birthday since. I’ve been storm-stayed at least three times on my birthday.”

She was raised in the Tiverton area, attending elementary school there, and Grades 9-12 at the Tiverton Continuation School. She took Grade 13 at Kincardine District Secondary School (KDSS). “Mac McLaughlin was our bus driver and he was pretty strict.”

As a teenager, she worked at McInnes’ Store in Tiverton where everything arrived in bulk and she had to bag up the items to put on the shelves for sale.

She says her mother did a good job raising eight children on her own. Her father was in the army and came home in 1946 for her eldest sister’s wedding, and then he left. “My mom was a good seamstress, knitter and quilter, and she worked hard.”

After a year at Stratford Normal School, Eleanor became a teacher and taught at S.S. No. 5 Brant near Walkerton; S.S. No. 5 Greenock in Pinkerton; and S.S. No. 3 Bruce in Eskdale.

She met Ron Thompson in Grade 9 and they were high school sweethearts. He was one of the children that the teacher, Mrs. Ferris, brought from Glammis to the continuation school in Tiverton.

“He sat in front of me and he always wanted to borrow something,” says Eleanor. They dated for seven years, were married May 8, 1954, and had four children.

They farmed on the 15th (Glammis Road), east of Tiverton, operating a dairy farm until they lost the barn to fire in 1957. When they put up the new barn, they switched to beef cattle.

In 1978, their son, Tom, and his wife, Mary Anne, took over the farm, and Eleanor and Ron moved to Greenock Township where they built a house and had a grass farm and continued to raise cattle.

Ron died May 4, 2011, and Eleanor stayed on the farm until 2016, when she moved to West 21 on Huron Terrace in Kincardine where she continues to live.

“I was one of the first tenants here,” she says. “I remember we came in to check it out when it was still under construction because I wanted to make sure my china cabinet would fit in the apartment.”

Eleanor has been singing in a choir since she was six years old. She grew up attending Knox Presbyterian Church in Tiverton, and then she and Ron and their family attended St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Glammis.

She has now come full-circle, as the Glammis church was part of a two-point charge with Tiverton, and then the two were amalgamated a few years ago. Eleanor continues to sing in the choir at the church in Tiverton.

A long-time member of the Women’s Missionary Society (WMS), she served as president of Presbyterial. She was also a volunteer with the Heart and Stroke Foundation for many years.

Eleanor belongs to the Bruce County Historical Society, the Bruce Township Historical Society and the Retired Women Teachers of Ontario. She loves playing cards in Kincardine and with the Greenock Seniors in Pinkerton; and she enjoys going to concerts and musical events.

Plus, there is always a family birthday or wedding anniversary to celebrate.

Eleanor has four children:
 

• Gord and Judy Thompson of Kincardine; he is a real estate agent
• Tom and Mary Anne Thompson; both deceased
• Nancy and Stuart Alexander of Glammis; she is a retired Bruce Power worker and they own The King’s Pearl in Tiverton
• Allan and Roula Thompson of Ottawa; he is head of journalism at Carleton University
   

She also has 11 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

So, what’s the secret to living to be 90 years old?

“It’s a surprise to me that I’m 90,” says Eleanor. “It must be clean-living!

“I’ve had health issues over the years but the good Lord looks after me. And it’s important to have family to look after you as well.”

Her advice to others is to have a lot of faith and enjoy every day that you have.

“I’m surrounded by great family and friends,” she says, “and I’m looking forward to celebrating!”

In honour of her 90th birthday, a Come-and-Go Tea will be held at the Whitney Crawford Community Centre in Tiverton, Saturday, March 2, from 2-4 p.m.

In lieu of gifts, everyone is encouraged to make a donation to the Kincardine Food Bank.



Eleanor Thompson of Kincardine holds up certificates from Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada (left) and Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson, recognizing her 90th birthday; and in the background are photos of her great-grandchildren