Decades-old handwritten memoir becomes surprise birthday book for Windsor woman turning 100

A Windsor woman was surprised with childhood memories she scribbled into a notebook decades ago. CTV's Sanjay Maru has the story.

Geraldine Eloise Adam never expected the childhood memories she scribbled into a notebook more than 25 years ago to leave her bedroom drawer — until her 100th birthday, when her family surprised her a fully published book made from her own handwritten pages.

Adam celebrated the milestone Saturday at Sette Food & Drink in LaSalle, surrounded by her nine children and generations of extended family. Born in Tilbury and raised partly in Windsor, she now lives at The Village at St. Clair.

The celebration followed a difficult year for Adam.

She was forced to moved out of her Riverside family home, where she lived for 77 years, in September 2024 after breaking her hip one month prior due to a fall.

But it was during that move that her eldest daughter, Christine Nugent, made a discovery that would become the centerpiece of Saturday’s surprise.

“When Mum was transferring, I went in her dresser to take things out,” Nugent said.

“I found a notebook and she had all these pages about her childhood.”

The memoir — a Hilroy notebook dated 1998 — begins with a line that now opens the published version titled Memories.

“Through the years of raising all of you, I would on occasion reminisce about my years growing up,” the first page reads.

“I thought maybe it would be a good time and not too late at the age of 73 to write down my thoughts and share my humble past with you.”

From there, Adam, maiden name LaBoeuf, details her childhood on a Tilbury farm, her family’s challenges during the Great Depression, moving to Windsor, attending St. Mary’s Academy, working at Hotel Dieu Hospital and the small joys that shaped her early years.

One passage she wrote recalled the simplicity of farm life.

“My first six years of my life were very comfortable and happy, living in the big farm house along with Aunt Marie and Pépé ... We would also have cream to make our own butter,” the passage reads.

“Mémé would make head cheese and blood sausage (boudin, French word). We were fortunate to have indoor plumbing but also had a well for drinking water.”

Nugent said reading her mother’s writing decades later felt like discovering a family time capsule.

“We now have an account of my mother’s life as a child,” she said.

“Her attitude toward poverty was humbling, and everyone who has read it says the same thing.”

Illustrations by a few of Adam’s family members, Emily Cockell, Robert Cockell, and Alexandra Steele bring the stories to life — from farm chores to Depression-era Windsor to her school days.

Adam said she wrote the memories simply because she wanted to preserve them.

“I’m proud of my family,” she said.

“My husband was a good person, and when he was golfing, I needed something to do. My mind kept travelling back, so I wrote everything down. And I guess the children kept those words.”

When she saw the published book for the first time at her birthday dinner, she grew emotional.

“It’s unbelievable,” she said.

“It’s really given me the best life you could have on this earth. The world can be very difficult, but my children have been wonderful people. I’m very proud of my family, and this day is very special.”

Even at 100, Adam remains sharp and curious. During Saturday’s birthday celebration, she even spent a few minutes dancing in front of the crowd.

“I go where I’m not supposed to be,” she said with a laugh, when asked how she is still so mobile at a three-digit age.

Asked whether surrounding herself with good people is the secret to her long life, she gently disagreed.

“I don’t like the word ‘secret.’ I just hang around with good people. It’s natural.”