A local woman celebrated her 100th birthday Wednesday.

After a party at Fire Mountain in Suffolk on Saturday, Mary Pollock had a quiet day on Wednesday at Consulate Health Care in Windsor, spending time with family members and enjoying the memories of her party.

“I enjoyed it so well, better than I’ve ever enjoyed a birthday,” Pollock said.

She was born the seventh of 18 children in North Carolina and attended the Ewell School and Vanceboro High School. She married James H. Dixon, and they had two sons and one daughter, who have now given her 13 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.

She worked as a companion aide and a homemaker and helped found a church in North Carolina. Later in life, she married again to James Pollock.

Pollock said her secret to longevity is “being sweet to everybody I meet.” She also said she has always had good health.

Her daughter, Mary Brown, believes it has more to do with her faith and eating well.

“I attribute it to her being so faithful to God,” Brown said. “That comes first in her life.”

Brown added, “she’s always been careful about what she put in her body. But now she deserves to eat what she wants.”

Brown said her mother still talks easily, gets around well using a walker and has few health problems.

She added that her mother was always good to the children.

“She’s always been there for us,” she said.