Photo By Michael Alexander

DECATUR—Family and friends of Marie Antoinette Alce gathered to mark her milestone 103rd birthday at Sts. Peter and Paul Church July 13.

The Saturday evening celebration was held in the church’s Maxwell Hall with family coming from as far as Texas to celebrate their matriarch’s birthday.

Marie Antoinette Alce was born in Saint Marc, Department of Artibonite, Haiti, on July 3, 1916. She married Saul Alce in May 1941. They had four children— three boys, Michel, Gabriel and Eddy; and a daughter, Josselyne.

Father Carl Jean, parochial vicar at San Felipe de Jesus Mission, Forest Park, and chaplain for the Haitian Catholic Community of Atlanta, plants a kiss on the forehead of Marie Antoinette Alce as she arrives for her 103rd birthday party celebration in the parish hall at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Decatur, July 13. In the background looking on is her son Michel. Photo By Michael Alexander

Alce became a widow at the age of 46. In 1976, she immigrated from Haiti to New York, where she resided for 16 years. In 1992, she moved to Marietta, where she lived independently until 2015.

Since January 2016, she has resided with her son and daughter-in-law, Michel and Yvrose, in Conyers.

Father Carl Jean, parochial vicar at San Felipe de Jesus Mission in Forest Park, and chaplain for the Haitian Catholic Community of Atlanta, is a family friend.

According to the priest, Alce’s health has always been good and she is active with a sharp mind. He shared that she loves sports, dancing and sings all day.

Sometimes she will have a little discomfort and complain that old age is mistreating her, but the moment her family plays Konpa, Haitian music, she forgets that she was not feeling well and begins to dance.

“She loves God. She loves her children and grandchildren,” said Father Carl Jean.