Gertrude (May) Rogers recently turned 100 years old and has been in the Church of God for 50 years. She was born Gertrude (May) Hodgson in Stoke-on-Trent, England, on May 10, 1905.

May's father was forced out of his profession as a baker due to an allergy. May's uncle had migrated to America and found a good paying job in a coal mine in southern Illinois. He was so delighted with his new life in Illinois that May's mother and father thought moving to the United States was a good idea. At the tender young age of 5, May Hodgson left her home in England and started a new life in America in 1910.

On June 20, 1936, May was married to Arthur Rogers. Mr. Rogers was a coal miner and a farmer. May enjoyed farm life, but Arthur wanted to live in town. In 1992 May and Arthur moved to Centralia, Illinois, where Arthur took up woodworking and filled their new home with fine handmade furniture. Arthur's health declined badly, and he died in 1998.

Due to a childhood mishap, May's right leg was paralyzed, but in spite of the hardship, May learned to function well. May has three children: Virginia, Ruth and Arthur Jr.

Before there was a local congregation in her area, May heard Herbert Armstrong on the radio. She was an avid reader, and she soon requested and received baptism. When local congregations were established, May began attending, first in Harrisburg, Illinois, then in Evansville, Indiana, and then in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She was attending in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, when she became homebound.

May always set a fine example of ladylike dress and decorum. May's mother taught her to play the piano, and she also became an excellent seamstress at her mother's knee. For many years May kept her family dressed in her own handmade clothing.

During the years that May was homebound, her health continued to decline. It finally came to the point that her daughter could no longer take care of her. May is now residing at Odin Health Care in Odin, Illinois.