EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A woman is celebrating her 101st birthday by looking back at the exciting journey that brought her from England to El Paso decades ago.
Barbara Gentemann was born on Jan. 5, 1925, in Clacton by the Sea, north of London, England. She was raised and educated in England before marrying an American soldier and having her daughter, Johann, according to The Legacy at Cimarron in a news release.
After the war, Gentemann and her daughter joined her husband in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she gave birth to her second child, Timothy.
In 1955, the family relocated to Ely, Nevada, where her husband worked as a mechanic for a car dealership. Gentemann started her banking career there as a supervisor and loan officer. By the mid-1970s, she had moved to Las Vegas and eventually retired from banking, according to the news release.
Gentemann moved to El Paso in 2003 to be closer to family members. She made friends and played mahjong regularly with other women in the area.
According to the news release, she then moved to The Legacy at Cimarron in August 2019. She now has seven grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.
“Barbara turns 101 on January 5, and her life has taken her from England to Utah to Nevada to El Paso,” Jacob Boggs, senior executive director at The Legacy at Cimarron, said. “Turning 101 after that kind of journey is worth celebrating.”
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