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Belhaven resident Lillie Jordan Carowan recently celebrated her 100th birthday with close to 150 family and friends at the First Baptist Church in Smithton. The party was an ice cream social, where folks could drop in and say hello and enjoy a bowl of ice cream provided by Cloud 9 Creamery in Belhaven. 

Carowan was born on March 29, 1925, in a small farmhouse between Pantego and Belhaven on Cokel Creek. Her family eventually moved to Belhaven. They lived right across the street from Jordan Marina and the Jordan Oil Disturbing Plant on Water Street, which was owned by her father. As a child, she spent a lot of her time there on the dock. So much so that her mother called her and the other kids “wharf rats.” 

After graduating from high school in 1942, she attended Hardbarger’s Business School in Raleigh. When she returned home, she worked as a bookkeeper for her father’s company for a while and also worked at the bank. In 1948, she married Glenn Carowan. They had two children, Glenn Jr. and Arthur, and taking care of them became her full-time job for the next several years. 

Carowan is perhaps best known for her volunteer work in the community, having volunteered for several years at the Senior Center and 25 years at the Pungo District Hospital. However, what some may not know is that music was her passion. “My mother played clarinet in the Belhaven Community Band, which performed at the opening of the Lost Colony,” said her son Glenn Carowan, Jr. “The band also performed each year at the Tulip Festival in Washington. And she either played in or attended every 4th of July parade in Belhaven.  And boy, did she love to dance. When she was in school, she would walk over to the Dutch Pepper Shop in Belhaven during lunch, do some dancing, and then get back to school,” Carowan added with a big chuckle.

Family and friends are also quick to point out one of her most famous quotes. One that certainly ranks right up there with some of Yogi Berra’s euphemisms. Following Hurricane Irene, she noted, “We didn’t have hurricanes until they started coming.” 

Carowan has five grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.