Holsworthy's oldest resident has died a few days short of her 103rd birthday. Mrs Ellie Reeves passed away at St Anne's Residential Home in Whitstone on Sunday, May 30. Mrs Reeves was born in London in 1907 and one of her earliest memories was being taken by her mother to see a procession of soldiers in their brightly coloured uniforms accompanying King Edward VII.

She moved to Kent where she married in 1939, and taught design and dressmaking to both children and adults. In 1980 she and her husband Bert moved to Clawton, though after being widowed in 1986 she moved into Holsworthy to be near her family.

She will be missed by her twin sons, her four grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Until just before last Christmas she attended Holsworthy Day Centre regularly, and attributed her longevity to hard work and never smoking or drinking.