This week’s Picayune Item Super Senior is Mrs. Lounett Gore.

She was born on March 11, 1909. When she was five, World War I began in Europe, and when she was eight, Congress  declared war on Germany, entering the European war.

On Sunday, March 11, she celebrated her 103rd birthday.

 She was born in the Mount Olive Community, northwest of Laurel. Her father was a Baptist preacher and farmer.

She not only remembers World War I, although vaguely, but she has seen the transformation from the strict segregation laws of the South into growth of freedom under the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

This daughter of a preacher went on to marry a Baptist preacher and see her son, Reverend. Willie Gore, called into the ministry. He pastors Newton Chapel United Methodist Church in White Sand Community and Merrell Chapel United Methodist Church in Poplarville.

Mrs. Gore attributes her long life to trusting in God. She once told her son, “My trust in God has sustained me through every trial and trouble I have faced. God has helped me keep my mind content and controlled.”

She remembers seeing only a few cars on the dusty dirt roads when she was a little girl. “Everyone back then traveled on a horse or in a horse-and-buggy,” she said.

Rev. Gore said that his mother has outlived everyone she knew in her generation, including three of her six children. Her three living children  are: Rev. Gore, James Gore of Laurel and John Gore of Erie, Pa.

Rev. Gore, who pastors two churches in the Poplarville area, along with some of his church members, traveled to Laurel, where they helped her celebrate her birthday.

Family and friends attended services at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church and then went to a steakhouse to enjoy a festive birthday meal.

Rev. Gore said his mother is “amazed at how things have changed since she was a little girl.”

He added, “She said she has always been in the House of the Lord and that she has always been a part of the Lord’s work. She said that her whole life has been devoted to helping the needy.”

[Editor’s note: Is there someone you would like for us to consider for our Super Senior feature? Send us an email or fax with details, including your contact information to: jmarze@picayuneitem.com or fax 601-798-8602.]