Local and longtime Shelbyville resident Christine Craighead turned 100 on March 9 and was given a big congratulations by both the City of Shelbyville and by friends and family.

A party was thrown at Carriage House Inn, where Christine is one of their longest-staying residents. And even at 100, she’s still got a bright smile and a love for chocolate cake.

Born “out in the country,” just outside Gainesboro in Jackson County, Mary Christine Stafford grew up in a little farmhouse. According to her son, Ed Craighead, her father died in a drowning accident when she was just four-years-old. With two little brothers, her mother took them to live with their grandparents.

As a little girl, Ed said she would have lived a “made from scratch life,” by helping to hoe the garden, drop tobacco plants, prune their orchards, and plant tomatoes and potatoes for eating.

When she was 16 years old, Christine then married her husband, Roger Glynn Craighead. Together, they had two sons—Ed and Ralph—raising them in Gainesboro until 1956 when they moved to Shelbyville.

She did all sorts of different work but most of her life she’s been a seamstress. “She’s always sewed,” Ed recalled.

Ed said his parents moved to Shelbyville looking for a better education for their sons. “We got a more rounded education, I don’t know if it was better,” said Ed with a laugh. “But we were the first Craigheads to really leave Jackson County since 1823.”

While in Shelbyville, Christine and her husband were part owners and managers of a retail store until Roger passed away in 1992. Christine eventually ran the store by herself before running the children’s department at another store called Sullivan’s. Right before her husband passed away, they also lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina to be close to Ed.

Christine then moved back to Shelbyville in the mid-90s and taught Sunday school at the Southside Church of Christ for 30 years.

“I think most people in the community who know her, know her after she came back and she continued to run Christine’s Seamstress business…She worked very hard,” Ed said. Not to mention, Christine was always an avid walker.

Ed said she lived by herself until she was 92. However, after suffering a nearly fatal heart attack, she moved to Carriage House Inn. 

On her 100th birthday, Mayor Randy Carroll read a proclamation and presented Christine with a key to the city to commemorate the special day and the special lady. Representatives from Arosa Home Care declared her as the 7^th centenarian they’ve celebrated in Bedford County.

Being in the research field, Ed said he’s seen evidence that there’s a benefit to making others around you happy and being selfless. “I think she’s really totally a good-hearted person who cares about everyone around her,” said Ed.