Jean Christy was already 105 years old when she felt a calling to do more for the Andrews United Methodist Church, so she called her pastor Rev. Mike Macdonald to offer her services as the community's phone-based "birthday ambassador."
As "birthday ambassador," Christy would use her telephone skills to call up fellow Christians and give them extra cheer during their birthdays.
"I just call up and say, 'Your church wants you to have a very happy birthday, and Miss Christy wants you to have one also,'" she told United Methodist News Service in 2010. "And they seem really happy to hear it."
Christy estimated that she called at least one person a week. Almost everybody in the small town of Andrews, North Carolina knew and respected the "birthday ambassador." Her great-nephew Rev. David Christy even said that she had actually attained a "superstar status in town."
"You walk in with Aunt Jean, you might as well be walking in with the president," he said. "There was a table ready, and they knew what she wanted. It was just amazing to see the respect."
She passed away at the age of 111 on May 28, and the whole town was heartbroken over her loss. They would miss the yearly birthday calls she used to make, but more than that, they would miss the inspiring example she set as a Christian.
Rev. Mary Brown, the pastor of Andrews United Methodist since 2013, said Christy's faith in God was an amazing thing to behold. "I've heard her thank God countless times (literally, countless) in a prayer: 'Thank you, thank you, thank you....' How powerful to see someone in her stage of life filled with gratitude," she said.
"When I visited her I felt peaceful, just to be in her presence," added Brown. The light of Christ shone brightly in her."
