A full gathering of family and friends swelled the fellowship hall of Central Church of Christ in Martinez on Saturday afternoon to honor a beloved local’s centenary.
“I think celebrating life is so important,” said Todd Gay, grandson of Judson Gay Sr., who had his 100th birthday celebration. “A lot of times when you go to funerals, you wish that the person was right there to hear everything that’s said. They’re not able to enjoy it. So it’s important to get together and to be able to celebrate life that you’re living now.”
Arthur Judson Gay Sr. was born in Wrens on April 9, 1922. After graduating from Wrens High School, Gay enlisted in the Marine Corps where he was a gunnery sergeant during World War II. He was assigned as a tail gunner on the Douglas SBD Dauntless, a dive bomber and scout plane.
“I always loved the Marines,” said Judson Gay Sr., recalling how he knew, as a young man, that he would qualify for the draft soon and decided to choose the Corps, where he served for three years.
“Three years and two months,” he said, to be precise.
Gay served in the Pacific Theater, on Marshall and Ulithi Islands, and was awarded an Air Medal and a Distinguished Flying Cross.
After the war he married wife, Sarah Holley Gay, with whom he had two boys and two girls. He started work at Augusta Lumber Company, purchased the home in Augusta where he has lived since December 1946 and started what would become a lifelong hobby of gardening.
Many relatives and friends from Wrens and farther traveled to wish the veteran a happy 100th birthday, including Eva Shoffitt Rains, the daughter of the Gays’ next door neighbors and best friends, from Houston, Texas.
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The party took about a month to plan and coordinate, with four children, five grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and a host of kin arriving in tow, along with two birthday cakes, a slide show and decorum by local artist Richard Worth.
“I think he really enjoys it,” said the celebrant’s oldest son, Judson Gay Jr. “You know, when they get this age, they kind of act like they don’t care, but they do. They really enjoy the people.”
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The elder Judson Gay attributes his long life, simply, to conscientious living, including, “Eating right, getting plenty of rest, staying away from alcohol.”
Likewise, Todd Gay says that a striking and influential quality of his grandfather is his strong faith, or his “foundation in Christ.”
“It’s important to celebrate life that you’re living now,” said Todd Gay. “I think it’s just wonderful to be around so many people that love him, see so many people that he has impacted. He’s just lived a wonderful life, and continues to live a great life.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
