Catharine Davidson was alive for the sinking of the Titanic, the Great Depression and both World Wars. She’ll talk about these events, but she never talks about them from a personal perspective.
Her family said she remembers the great moments of the 20th century but, sharp as she is, not how she felt at the time.
“She doesn’t talk too much about the past because she looks so much to the future,” said Davidson’s granddaughter Debbie Saeger. “My children and I have tried to interview her, and she remembers things in relation to history but not so much how it related to her personally.
“Maybe that’s the secret. You did it and it’s done. You got through it.”
Ask Davidson though, and the story of her longevity has nothing to do with looking any direction but up.
“I love the Lord, and I’m very cheerful – or I try to be,” she said.
On her 105th birthday in August, Davidson stopped by Vestavia Hills City Hall on her way to her party at The Club. There, Mayor Butch Zaragoza presented her with a plaque from the Mayor’s Office and the Vestavia Hills City Council recognizing her achievement.
“Well, this seems like it’s a very special occasion every year,” Zaragoza said as he made the presentation. “And I hope I’m here for 106, 107, 108 and on.”
The crowd was divided evenly between Davidson’s family – including her 95-year-old brother Sam Naff and 76-year-old son Cullie – and her garden club, of which she’s been a member since 1971.
Davidson was raised in Birmingham and lived in multiple locations in the Southeast, as her husband was relocated frequently in his position with Gulf Oil Company. The couple returned to Vestavia Hills in 1962 following stints in Arkansas and Mississippi, but they were relocated to Kentucky immediately after, Naff said.
They didn’t sell the house though, renting it until they returned in 1971. Davidson lived there until 2009 when she moved into Town Village in Vestavia Hills – an independent living community for seniors.
“Mayor, we hope you’ll be here next year and the year after, but we know she will,” came a voice from the crowd during the proclamation.
