Turning 100 years of age on New Year’s Day, local resident Gilda Botelho Louro was the guest of honor at a well-organized birthday party at the Lobster Pot Restaurant with a number of family members and friends in attendance.

“I’m so happy we had a chance to see our mother turn 100 years old,” said daughter Gilda Cordeiro. “We are all so happy to see our mother reach this special occasion.”

“This New Year’s baby is 100 and fabulous,” said granddaughter Melissa Cordeiro. “Cheers to this amazing woman who is the cornerstone of our family. One hundred never looked so good.”

Thanks to Ms. Cordeiro and members of the family, this party was able to take place. And, everyone who was in attendance, including the guest of honor, seemed to savor the moment.

Born on January 1, 1925 in Sao Miguel, the Azores, Gilda Botelho Louro was the youngest of three children of Conceicao Gomes and Joao Louro. She was married to Jose Jacinto Botelho on May 9, 1943, and the couple had five children: Zelia Garcia, Gilda Cordeiro, Rose Paiva, John Botelho, and Lee Terra.

Gilda Louro immigrated to the United States from Portugal in November 1968 with a work visa and the intent to give a better life to her children.

According to her granddaughter, Gilda left her children behind with her mother until she could get enough money to pay for them all to come to America.

“She had the opportunity to come here as part of Kennedy’s Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 where she was sponsored by family and relatives,” said Melissa Cordeiro. “In 1970, she got her green card, and in September 1970, all her kids came to this country.”
From 1968 to 1973, Gilda worked as a nanny for three children for a single father (the mother had passed) and worked at Converse Rubber Co. In 1973, she went to work at Martin Copelin in East Providence. She later worked at a lace factory in Barrington until she retired in 1990. She had an apartment on Wood Street…steps away from her beloved St. Elizabeth’s Church.

“There was a larger Portuguese population which helped her,” noted Ms. Cordeiro, “and when she retired she lived with my mom, until about two years ago when she went to Dawn Hill Home & Rehabilitation Center.”
In addition to her five children, Gilda has 12 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren, each of whom is blessed to be lucky enough to have this remarkable 100-year old woman as the head of the family.

To further mark the occasion of her 100th birthday, Gilda received a citation from the Town of Bristol congratulating her “on her incredible milestone and wishing her many more years of good health and happiness.”