A celebration of the centenary of a woman dubbed the “matriarch” of her home area attracted about 330 people.Grace “Mama Grace” Woodley was surrounded by family and friends as she marked her 100th birthday with a special party at the CedarBridge Academy hall.Her son Cromwell Shakir, a former Progressive Labour Party senator, said yesterday it had been an “overwhelming” night.Mr Shakir said: “It’s still going on over Christmas and still being felt — and she’s still smiling from it. It was wonderful to see her sharing her life.”Ms Woodley, whose birthday was December 5, was all smiles for the big event.She sat at the head table, flanked by the large family descended from “Mama Grace” and her late husband, Ebenezer.The extended Woodley clan was big enough to get likened to a football team by speakers at the celebration, who paid tribute to the matriarch of the Friswell’s Hill area on the boundary of Devonshire and Pembroke.Mr Shakir said that in Friswell’s Hill “they call her the mother of the hill”.Ms Woodley is a former supervisor at the Grotto Bay Hotel and a long time member of the Mid-Atlantic Boat Club.