A ‘MARVELLOUS’ lady celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by family.
Eileen Exon Hoodless, from Weymouth, was joined by her family for her centenary birthday on January 28. Born in Bristol, she went to live with her aunt in Weymouth when she was four, following the death of her mother.
She helped to bring up her cousins.
She worked for a time as a barmaid at the Sailors Return pub on Portland and lived above the establishment.
That was where she met her husband, Robert Hoodless. He was in the Navy with the HMS Maidstone, which was anchored at Portland. The couple married on April 4, 1936.
Mrs Hoodless had a number of different careers.  In the Second World War she worked as a ladies’ companion for a gentrified family in London.
The couple moved around as Mr Hoodless was in the Navy, and then came back to Weymouth.
They had four children: Robert, Patrick, Penelope and John, who sadly passed away last year. Mrs Hoodless enjoyed gardening and now lives with her two sons, Robert and Patrick.
Robert said: “She is marvellous.”