Woman marks 100th birthday with drive-thru party: 'no way you can let a century go by'

Julia Lee Kelley celebrated her 100th birthday socially-distanced but surrounded by her closest family and friends.

On the guest list? All 88 of her great-grandchildren.

The North Carolina woman commemorated her century-long life in a pandemic-appropriate way with a drive-thru birthday celebration over the weekend.

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"Thank the Lord for allowing me to make it to 100," Kelley told CNN.

In her lifetime, Kelley has lived to see six generations of her family grow up.

As a mother-of-five herself, Kelley is grandmother to 30 children, a great-grandmother of 88, the great-great grandmother to another 49, and even has one great-great-great-grandchild.

With all that greatness came a momentous birthday celebration.

Kelley's family originally planned to mark her centennial by renting out a building and hosting a giant party.

However, as US public health measures continue to limit large gatherings, the family was forced to cancel their plans.

However, great-granddaughter Kelley Oakley said there was "no way you can let a century go by and not celebrate."

Instead, they placed Kelley under a tent outside her North Carolina home with balloons and a party hat, and hosted a 'drive-thru'.

A parade of cars drove past the centenarian and shared their birthday wishes from their cars.

A procession of Kelley's loved ones, including church members, lined the path of her property.

"They blew the horns. They had their cars decorated. They had balloons out the window. And my little cousins got the cards for her and put (them) in a box," Oakley said.

Between 25 - 30 cars showed up to celebrate the matriarch's milestone.

While guests were unable to hug and kiss Kelley, she still felt overwhelmed with happiness.

"I just felt like hollering and crying or shouting," Kelley explained to CNN.

The regular church-goer said Sunday mass, cooking and looking after her flower garden were her favourite ways to pass time.

When it comes to living a long life, Kelley said she owed it all to "God's grace."

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