Centenarian Roy McLeod never goes to bed hungry at Baptist Village

J. Gerald Harris

Roy McLeod, left, expresses to Hugh Rockett his delight at being a resident at Baptist Village in Lake Park. Rockett is the director of advancement for the Baptist Village Communities.

The Baptist Village at Lake Park is located just east of I-75 and five miles north of the Florida state line. This beautiful, well-kept facility is nestled among the tall Georgia pines on 24 acres of land adjacent to Lake Frances Baptist Church.

Sherry Croft is the director of Baptist Village at Lake Park and manages the care of God's older children with both grace and dedication. Croft is proud of the residents in her facility and enthusiastically interacts with them on a daily basis.

One of her most interesting and personable residents is Roy McLeod, a former United States postal employee, who is the oldest person living on any of the three Baptist Village campuses. McLeod has every intention of celebrating his 103rd birthday on July 12, and boasts of the fact that in the course of his career with the U. S. Postal Service he delivered mail by walking, riding a bicycle and driving a truck.

In spite of a long career as a mail carrier and a farmer, McLeod boasts about drawing Social Security for more years than he worked.

McLeod married the former Florrie Viola Webb on Feb. 12, 1922. The McLeods were married for more than 77 years until Florrie died on April 27, 1999. For the last decade of her life the devoted husband faithfully cared for his wife who suffered a stroke that left her considerably debilitated.

He stated, "I cooked for her and did all the house work and looked after her day and night for ten years."

The McLeods had two children, a daughter who lives near the Park Lake campus of Baptist Village and another child who died on his eleventh birthday of meningitis. The centenarian said, "You can keep a marriage going if you don't get in fights. Just be nice to your spouse and do what's right."

McLeod, who has been a resident of Baptist Village for six years, remarked, "I'd rather be at home. I have a nice home, but if I can't be at home, I can't think of a better place to be than right here at Baptist Village. The people are so nice. They couldn't be better. They would do anything for you. All you have to do is ask."

When asked about the food, McLeod smiled and professed, "It's good. I can't kick about the food. I have never gone to bed hungry here."

The senior of the Baptist Village seniors proclaimed that his longevity could be attributed to clean living - no smoking, no drinking, hard work and never missing church services, not even the Wednesday night services.

When asked to recall his life's greatest accomplishment, McLeod commented, "I am most proud of having had a good Christian home." And when asked if he would consider marrying again, he said with sparking eyes and unquestioned certainty, "No! I came here single and I'm going to leave single."