Bessie Louise White turned 104 on July 15, celebrating her birthday with a large gathering at her South Avenue home.
Having lived in Niagara Falls since 1953, when her family moved to the area from Port St. Joe, Florida, White worked as a YMCA baker at the original Mount St. Mary’s Hospital at 6th Street and Ferry Avenue, as well as at Carborundum and Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.
White said this week that she even spent time working as a model for a clothing store that used to be located at Main and Third streets.
White attributes her long life to praying four times a day and thanking God every morning.
“When I wake up in the morning, I tell God, ‘Good morning, how are you?’ ” White said. “The roads you want me to travel today to please you, I ask you to help me if I can’t do it by myself.”