SKOWHEGAN — Irene Marie Gallant Dumont, 106, who resides at Redington Memorial Home, was presented with the facility’s homemade Redington Cane on Aug. 26.
Karen Dore, the activity director, decorated an old wooden cane to honor Dumont five years after she received The Boston Post Cane, when she was 101 on Oct. 19, 2018.
Irene Marie Gallant Dumont, 106, with the Boston Post Cane and ”Redington Cane,” at Redington Memorial Home in Skowhegan. Submitted photo
“This cane is made with love and smiles, hoping it takes you many miles. Everyone here is a part of this, we all filled your cane with a hug and a kiss,” said Dore when presenting the homemade cane to Dumont, in a news release from the home.
Dumont is the oldest resident at the facility. She was born in Keegan on Aug. 23, 1917. She moved to Skowhegan when she was 14, and helped support her family by working at the Maine Spinning Company on the island. She was a waitress at many local restaurants, and even waited on President Eisenhower when he visited the area in 1955.
Her daughter called her mom “a late bloomer.” In her 50s she started driving a car. In her 60s she learned to ski at Eaton Mountain and learned to bowl on two league teams. In her 70s she learned to use a checking account and pay bills, which she maintained doing into her late 90s. In her 80s she started daily exercises that continue to this day. In her 90s she fell and broke her hip. Four months later, she was back to being a snowbird, living in Florida and Maine on her own.
Dumont married Eugene L. Dumont in 1938, and they raised five children in Skowhegan. In addition to her five children, she has 13 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren.
In keeping with tradition, Dumont’s birthday was celebrated the entire month of August with cards, gifts, and multiple visits from family and friends.
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