By Dan Aznoff

Special to the Reporter

The year 1907 was memorable in England. The Women’s Suffrage movement took root, the first taxi cabs began to operate in London and New Zealand and Newfoundland both became dominions of the English crown.

It was also when Bellevue resident Sylvia Wells-Henderson was born in the township of Great Yarmouth while her mother was in England on a trip to trace her ancestral roots. The unexpected early arrival gave the baby dual citizenship from the moment of her birth.

Wells-Henderson’s 100th birthday was acknowledged seven years ago with notes of congratulations from both the President of the United States and the Queen of England.

“My mother was an American raised in Seattle, but has always been especially proud of her roots in the U.K.,” said her son Ron Wells-Henderson.

Sylvia’s latest birthday was celebrated with a modest party with friends and relatives at the Sunshine Park adult family home where she currently lives in the Kelsey Creek neighborhood of Bellevue. The guest list included a number of her former caregivers.

Jainaba Drammeh operates the adult family home where Wells-Henderson has lived for the past two years. Drammeh admits that some days are better than others for her oldest resident, but that Sylvia maintains her zeal for life by continuing to read.

“She may not be as talkative as she once was, but we know she is the most happy when she is just sitting in a chair with a book,” said Drammeh.

Sylvia’s father, the Rev. Herbert H. Gowen, accepted a position with the University of Washington in 1909 to start what would eventually become the Jackson School of International Studies. A building on the campus quad was named in his honor.

The Gowen home on 22nd Avenue Northeast is now the Chambered Nautilus. Sylvia rode horses at Fort Lawton as a teenager and attended Roosevelt High School before enrolling at the University of Washington, where she served as captain of the debate team. She began her career as an English teacher in Oregon, but moved closer to home to accept a similar position with the Bush School in Seattle.

She married William Noel Wells-Henderson in 1932 and later followed him to live in the Chinese city of Shanghai. The couple escaped the Far East on what Sylvia told her son was the last ship to leave for the United States before the start of World War II.

The younger Wells-Henderson said his mother returned to Shanghai briefly after the war, but was forced come home to Seattle with tuberculosis and spent more than two years at Riverton Hospital recovering from the illness.

In addition to her battle with tuberculosis, Ron said his mother has survived malaria, numerous broken bones from falling off a horse, cataracts and two hip replacements.

“My mom is proof that tough ladies can survive anything medical that gets in their way.”

Dan Aznoff was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his coverage of the toxic waste crisis in California. He lives in Bellevue and is a freelance writer who specializes in capturing family memories. His website is www.DAjournalist.com. He can be contacted directly at da@dajournalist.com.