A Century of Strength, Faith, and Family: Celebrating Katrina Pittman Olds

By: Shelia Mader

Born April 9, 1926, Katrina Pittman Olds will mark a remarkable milestone, one that few are blessed to reach. At nearly 100 years old, her memory is still sharp, her spirit steady, and her story rich with the kind of lived history that stretches across generations.

Born on April 9, 1926, to Joshua and Maudie McKinnie Pittman, Katrina Olds came into a world far different from the one we know today. She was the second of nine children, raised in a time when life was simple, but rarely easy. From an early age, she learned the value of hard work, responsibility, and faith, values that would shape the rest of her life.

She began school at just five years old, walking three to four miles each way, often through wooded paths, alongside her brother. Education came with effort, but she embraced it. She attended Ellaville and Canniehead schools before continuing on to Roulhac High School in Chipley, where she lived with relatives. Even then, she balanced school with work, taking on house chores for others to earn money and support herself.

Though life would eventually lead her in a different direction, her love for learning never faded.

At 20 years old, she married Culley Lester Olds on Christmas Eve of 1946, beginning a new chapter rooted in family. Together, she and her husband raised eight children, enduring both joy and heartbreak, including the loss of a child shortly after birth. Through it all, she remained a steady presence, committed to providing for her family in whatever way she could. She and Culley owned and managed a successful farming business for over 60 years.  

Her children remember a mother who never let hardship stand in the way of opportunity. When money was tight, she found ways to make it stretch. She picked up pecans, took on extra work, and did whatever was necessary to ensure her children had what they needed, not just for the moment, but for their futures.

One of her sons still keeps a jacket she purchased for him decades ago, bought with money she saved through sheer determination. It hangs in his closet today, a quiet but powerful reminder of a mother’s sacrifice and love.

Education, in particular, was always a priority. Though she had to put her own schooling aside early in life, she never let that dream fade. She eventually returned to complete her high school diploma, fulfilling a wish her father once had for her. More importantly, she passed that value on. Of her children, six attended college and five graduated, an achievement that speaks volumes about her influence.

Her children and their occupations are: Curlie Russ, teacher’s aide (retired), Trinia Pender,  music teacher (retired), Gail Knighton, postal worker and a homemaker (retired), Lonniell Olds, attorney, Calvin Olds, career military US Army Captain/Department of Labor Investigator (retired), Edison Olds, Corrections officer supervisor, farmer (retired), and Faye Adams, respiratory therapist.

Her legacy can be seen in their accomplishments, including a son who went on to become a lawyer and business owner, employing others and building a life rooted in the very principles she instilled.

Beyond motherhood, Katrina Olds worked both inside and outside the home. She was a skilled seamstress, creating uniforms for schoolchildren and later working at Vanity Fair for 14 years, helping support her children’s college education.

Her hands stayed busy long after retirement. She found joy in tending her yard, working in her flower beds, and growing vegetables. Roses, her favorite, continue to bloom around her home. Even into her 90s, she remained active, helping her youngest son on the farm and raising cows until she was no longer able at age 95.

Faith has always been at the center of her life. She recalls the most important moment of her life as the day she was saved, July 23, 1942, at just 16 years old. Since then, she has served faithfully in her church as a Sunday school teacher, choir member, and stewardess. Her beliefs have guided her through every season, providing strength in both quiet and challenging times.

Over the course of nearly a century, Katrina Olds has witnessed a world transformed. She grew up without electricity, using outhouses and washing clothes by hand. Today, she sees homes with modern conveniences, from automatic appliances to self-flushing toilets. She walked miles to school, rode in mule-drawn wagons, and later learned to drive cars. She communicated through handwritten letters and now watches as messages and photos are sent instantly across the world.

She has seen black-and-white televisions give way to color, wood-burning stoves replaced by central heating and air, and even the shift from segregated schools to integration, changes that brought both uncertainty and progress.

Yet, for all the advancements she has witnessed, she reflects on one change that stands out to her the most: the sense of safety. She remembers a time when doors were left unlocked and neighbors moved freely. Today’s world, she notes, feels different.

Still, through every change, her values have remained constant; faith, family, hard work, and education.

Those values now live on through a growing legacy that includes 25 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren, and 14 great-great-grandchildren. Each generation carries forward a piece of her story.

As her family prepares to celebrate her 100th birthday on April 11 in Campbellton, where more than 150 people are expected to gather, they are not just honoring a milestone, they are honoring a life well lived.

A life defined not by ease, but by perseverance. Not by circumstance, but by character.

At nearly 100 years old, Katrina Pittman Olds stands as a living testament to what it means to endure, to give, and to lead with quiet strength.

And perhaps the most remarkable part of her story is this: she is still here to tell it, clear-minded, strong in spirit, and surrounded by the family she built, nurtured, and inspired.