Diana Brown of Vancouver Turns 100!

May 12, 2008 |

Family members gather around Diana Brown (seated on right) for a family portrait on her 100th birthday. (Photo by Julia Pelish)

Diana Brown has witnessed a whole lot of history in her life and on Monday she made some herself by becoming the latest Canadian to celebrate a 100th birthday.

To mark the occasion, Diana’s family gathered in Kerrisdale for a family portrait session and a party on Saturday, which also happened to be the centennial of the first Mother’s Day celebrations in North America.

“Having a photo of her children, their offspring and their offspring is something she always wanted,” her granddaughter Robyn said.

Diana was born on her father’s cattle ranch in Sedalia, Colorado, and immigrated in 1916 when her family chose to live under the Union Jack during World War I. Diana recalls spending her eighth birthday on the train to Vancouver as the Porteous family made the move.

The 100th birthday party included Diana’s son, Dr. Hugh Alexander Brown, and daughter, Stephanie Diana Stratton, along with their families. Diana has six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, who all happily doted on her during the party.

As for her secret to longevity, Diana takes two Aspirins a day and no other medications. She joins the list of centenarians in Canada, which was reported to be 4,635 in the 2006 census.

In 1908, the year Diana Brown (nee Porteous) was born, these historic events occurred:

On May 10, Mother’s Day is observed for the first time (Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia).
Notable figures born include physicist Edward Teller, actors Jimmy Stewart and Rex Harrison, journalist Edward R. Murrow, World War II hero Oskar Schindler, James Bond author Ian Fleming, former U.S. president Lyndon Johnson and comedian Milton Berle.
“Anne of Green Gables” by Lucy Maud Montgomery is published and becomes ingrained in Canadian culture.
A ball signifying New Year’s Day drops in New York City’s Times Square for the first time.
The University of British Columbia is established on March 7.
The fourth Modern Olympic Games opens in London on July 27.
Henry Ford produces his first Model T automobile on September 27.
The Chicago Cubs win the World Series by defeating the Detroit Tigers 2–0 in the fifth game, their second World Championship win in a row and the most recent championship the team has won (October 14).
On November 3, William Howard Taft defeats William Jennings Bryan in the U.S. presidential election
Western bandits Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid are supposedly killed in Bolivia, after being surrounded by a large group of soldiers on November 6. There are many rumors to the contrary however, and their grave sites are unmarked.