IT TAKES a village to give a 100-year-old a meaningful life, said the daughter of a Dollar centenarian who hit triple digits yesterday.

Ruet Roe, nee Deas, turned 100 on Tuesday, August 7, and celebrated with family and friends from as far afield as Canada at the weekend.

Despite her age, Ruet is still enjoys an active life, going out to lunch clubs and coffee mornings in Dollar, assisted by members of the community.

And her youngest daughter Evelyn, of Tillicoultry, gave a nod of thanks to locals around the Wee County for making it happen.

Evelyn, who lived in Africa for 20 years before moving to the Hillfoots, said: “There is an African saying, that it takes a village to raise a child.

“I now see that it takes a village to give an elderly person a meaningful and enjoyable life, as Ruet is included and supported by the community in all that she does.

“Thank you to the people of Dollar and Clackmannanshire for this.”

Ruet was born in the Perthshire village of Glenfarg and was the second child in a family of five, although tragically, her eldest brother was killed in action at El Alamein as a young man.

Her father was a stonemason and quarry master with his work taking the family across the country.

It was near Fort William that Ruet met husband-to-be Frank, later starting a family and having their sixth and youngest child in their Falkirk home.

When all the youngsters flew out the nest she relocated to Edinburgh for a few years, then up the Highlands to Errogie near Loch Ness, moving to Dollar some 30 years ago to be closer to her grandchildren.

Before tying the knot with Frank, she was a sergeant in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during WWII, working a predictor to help shoot down enemy aircraft.

Ruet has always been active, playing tennis into her 60s, riding her bicycle and even a moped into her 70s.

Nowadays she also attends weekly OTAGO exercises classes in Sauchie and enjoys a 20-minute walk in the mornings whenever someone can accompany her.

When she moved to the area some three decades ago she became an enthusiastic member of the SWRI and attended meetings well into her 90s.

Ruet is also at home in the garden, her interest began 90 years ago when her mother gave her a small patch to look after at the family home.

The family has grown over the years, from her six children she has 17 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren with a large chunk of the family living in Canada, where she has been on several visits over the years.