ESTEVAN — Estevan's most senior citizen celebrated her birthday on Dec. 25.
While most people were gathering around the trees to unpack Christmas presents, Blanche Keating was also accepting greetings from family, friends and the community as she turned 106 years old.
Keating was born in 1917 and raised in the Weyburn area. She moved to Estevan in 1960 with her husband Francis and their children, after she accepted a teaching job at the former St. John's School. After moving to Estevan, she switched to elementary school and retired from teaching in 1982, ending a long career she enjoyed.
Keating enjoyed travelling after she retired, visiting family who are spread throughout the country. She also ventured to Europe on multiple occasions.
When she celebrated her 100th birthday in 2017, she was still living on her own at her residence on First Street, which the Keatings purchased in the 1960s for $6,500.
Keating later moved to Creighton Lodge, where she was residing until this December when a decision was made for her to move to the Estevan Regional Nursing Home.
As of the end of 2023, Keating has 11 children, 37 grandchildren and 59 great-grandkids, and she's been making a Christmas ornament for each baby's first Christmas.
Good genes, good family, good friends and a good God – Keating says these are the reasons she has been able to live not just such a long and full life, but to still be in good shape, both physically and mentally past 100.
