Two amazing women celebrated milestone birthdays this week in Hampton County and both centurions shared their secret to a long and happy life.
Mamie Jones, 104 years old on Tuesday, was still "in her right mind," said family members, and didn't mind sharing her secret to life.
"Life?" Her deeply wrinkled face bore a toothy smile and just a little bit of birthday cake. "Do right. Live right. And serve Jesus. He is the light of this world."
Inez Ferris, who celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday, hinted that longevity was all about faith - after all, she was the wife of a pastor and missionary - combined with a sense of humor. Her secret?
"Just keep breathing, I guess" she said in a quiet voice, smiling.

You can't ask for a better person
Jones shared her birthday with family and friends at the Unihealth Post-Acute Care facility in Estill.
Hampton County Sheriff T.C. Smalls, a friend of the family, presented Jones with a bouquet of flowers and got down on one knee, grinning from ear to ear, as he sang "I'm so glad I met you."
"God has been good to her and has truly blessed her to be able to live to be 104 and be in her right mind," Smalls said. "They don't make them like that anymore, and I pray that God continues to bless her and keep her."
Among Jones' many friends were members of her church, Hopewell CME, including Evangelist Shirley Harley.
"This is a blessing from the Lord," said Harley, as she led the birthday party in prayer, scripture, and a version of "Let It Shine," joined by a chorus of amens. "Some people live a long time, and some people live a short time. Nothing ends until God says it ends."
Love, praises, and kind words flowed as freely as the cake, ice cream, and punch in that corner of the Estill health care facility.
"You can't ask for a better person than Mamie Jones," Lila Edwards said. "She will tell you right from wrong."
Jones was born in the Heyward Town section of Garnett in 1908. She was a farmer for most of her life and was married to Lee Jones for over 60 years. She gave birth to no children, but she helped raise many.

‘A perfect example of a Christian life'
Inez Ferris was born in a blizzard in 1912, the year William Howard Taft became President, the Titanic sunk and New Mexico and Arizona became states.
Her 100-year journey has taken her from the most uncivilized heart of Africa to Hampton County and countless stops in between.
Inez, a school teacher and Sunday School teacher, and her husband, Fred Ferris, a pastor and missionary, followed their calling wherever the Lord guided them. They shared their love and Gospel around the world.
Of their three children, Beverly Mills (who is married to Hampton dentist Frances Mills) and Marjorie Dawson were born in Kansas. Their son, Robert Ferris, was born in Illinois. Fred also pastored churches in Kansas, Iowa, Michigan, and - in his retirement - Florida.
In 1952 the Ferris family began five years in the West African nation of Liberia, and during that time Beverly was baptized in the crocodile-infested Sanguine River as tribesmen stood guard.
From 1957 to 1962 the Ferris family traveled with an international Christian organization in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe.
In 1989 Fred and Inez moved to Hampton, and Fred passed away in 1998 at the age of 88.
"Dad had a long career, and he couldn't have done it without someone having his back," said Dawson.
Inez now has nine grandchildren and 13 great-grands.
She celebrated her 100th birthday with a drop-in at the Hampton First Baptist Church social hall last Friday.
"This is just the most amazing thing in my life, to have had her this long," Beverly said. "She and my Daddy have been the perfect example of a Christian life. They taught me everything I know."