A FORMER Holywood woman has celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by family.
Vera McCrea reached her century milestone following a long and busy life in the NHS and as a mother and grandmother.
The keen bird watcher was treated to a special birthday party at a care home in Spa where she moved to after decades in Holywood.
Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on May 31, 1925, to William and Ada Wedderburn, Vera lived through historic events during her life, including being among evacuees with her young schoolmates during World War Two to Kendal in the beautiful Lake District.
She began a career in nursing at the age of 18, in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle where she met Bob McCrea, an ENT surgeon from Fintona in Co Tyrone, who she married in 1950.
They moved to Belfast and had two daughters, Margaret and Susan, who went on to bless their parents with four grandchildren between them, Kirsten, Conal, Maeve and Arthur.
It was after a few years in Northern Ireland that they moved to Holywood, where she sadly lost her beloved Bob in 1983.
Losing her husband in her early forties, Vera was determined to keep active and became a keen bird watcher and loved to attend avian-related lectures in Holywood, while also taking part in activities with the Belfast Field Naturalist Club.
Vera stayed in Holywood until 2022 when she moved to Spa Nursing Home, in Ballynahinch.
