Man who waited 100 years for first drink has care home diner named after him

A man who spent 100 years avoiding alcohol but finally took his very first sip of the hard stuff at a care home in Scotland, is being remembered with a new diner in his name.

After 10 decades of abstinence, Robert ‘Jerry’ Morrison threw caution to the wind with a drop of brandy when he turned 100 at Balcarres Care Home in Dundee. So when he passed away this year, less than two months before his 102nd birthday, staff decided to unveil a diner in honour of him.

Jerry Morrison was born on 3 November 1915 but spent a century saying no to cigarettes and alcohol. Not even the men serving alongside him in the army could persuade him otherwise.

He remained resistant to the temptations of alcohol, even when his two sons Gerry and Blair Morrison made a career out of selling alcohol by opening up seven pubs.

Care home manager Lynn Mclean said the 101-year-old, who died on 24 September had lived at the home for three years and that Jerry had “attributed his long life to his decision not to drink alcohol”.

When asked what it felt like to taste alcohol for the very first time, Jerry described the experience as “very good”.

To honour Jerry after his death, his sons Gerry, Blair and his daughter Doreen Hainey donated £500 to the care home.

On what would have been his 102nd birthday on 3 November, residents at Balcarres care home were able to drink to Jerry by having a drop of whatever they fancied inside Jerry’s diner.

Lynn Mclean, the home manager, said: “It’s an amazing diner! Residents and staff got together to see how we could honour Jerry."

In the same room as Jerry's diner, there is also a new hair salon dedicated to the former care home resident.

Ms Mclean added: "We thought the hair salon was a good idea too. He always liked to go and get his hair done”.

click here for more details or to contact Balcarres Care Home