STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Born in 1918, Winnell Shaw celebrated her 105th birthday amongst community members who love and continuously msupport her and her family last Saturday.
One organization, the African American Financial Empowerment Connection, raised funds to help cover expenses for her assisted living facility, helping her and other senior members in the community she resides.
The 105-year-old was born in Lawrenceville, but her family moved to Atlanta at the young age of 12. She has 13 grandchildren and four children who helped celebrate her 105th year of life.
Shaw received most of her primary education from the largest African American public elementary school Ashby Street Elementary and her high school education from Booker Washington High School.
Shaw married her husband, an Army soldier at the time, at age 23. She and her husband, Frank Shaw, raised their four children until his death.
Shaw was a seamstress in her community growing up where she serviced her family, friends and community. Community members would refer each other to her work.
In 1961, she helped her neighbor deliver her baby, becoming a pillar for her community and spreading her love and care for children.
Although she has short-term memory loss, she keeps an active mind by playing card games and even took an interest in drawing as a new hobby.
Shaw's drawings are a detailed and animated version of the interests she picked up over the years. Her pictures express her fashionable taste and love for animals, flowers and people she has met.
Visit here for those who would like to donate to Shaw and other Georgia seniors facing hardships.
