Gertrude Hawkins celebrates her 106th birthday with her loved ones and offers advice for a long life

LOS ANGELES– Gertrude Hawkins celebrated her 106th birthday with humor and some advice for those hoping to live a long life: don’t let anything bother you.

Hawkins was born on March 28, 1917, and is the daughter of farmers in Mississippi and Arkansas. She’s known as “Aunt Trim” to those close to her in the Los Angeles area and isn’t shy about speaking her mind.

“I don’t let anything bother me because worry only gives you gray hair, and I don’t want that,” Hawkins said.

Lou Davis, who has known Hawkins for 82 years, says he loves his charisma and kindness.

“She’s a generous person. Kind. And we like her charisma. We like her charisma. The way she carries herself,” Davis said.

Her family calls her a trailblazer, citing her as the trailblazer who brought the family west.

“We all followed my Aunt Trim to the West Coast,” said Ryan Hope, Hawkins’ great-nephew. “If she wasn’t one of the pioneers coming to the West Coast early, we wouldn’t be here.”

But for Hawkins, she fondly remembers her childhood as a farmer in the South, saying it was actually the “best life”.

“You work from sunrise to sunset, so you didn’t have to do a lot of thinking,” Hawkins said. “I thought it was the worst life in the world, but it was the best life.”

“You didn’t have to lock your door,” Hawkins continued. “You could go out and stay a year and pull the door behind you, and come back, and no one came into your house.”

Hawkins is survived by three siblings and has an adopted son. Even at the age of 106, she is able to make her guests laugh by putting her leg on her walker.

She has nothing but valuable advice for those hoping to listen. She says the key to living a long life is to treat everyone well and keep living.

“I try to treat everyone well, that way I have no worries, no regrets about my life,” Hawkins said. “I have an answer for everyone is to live and not die.”