Jean Boher from Bagnolais tells the story of his century of life shared between the Navy and the CEA Marcoule

Dans leur chambre commune à l’Ehpad, Jean et Colette affichent leur photo de mariage et de famille. Midi Libre – C. L.

Jean Boher celebrated his 100th birthday at the 7-Sources nursing home in Bagnols-sur-Cèze on December 15. This loyal Midi Libre subscriber passionately confides in his career and his life shared with Colette who has just blown out her 97 candles!

He is a real pilot at the 7-Sources nursing home in Bagnols-sur-Cèze. Equipped with his latest generation electric wheelchair, Jean Boher wanders through the corridors of the establishment. “We are good here, it's really great”, smiles the resident who celebrated his 100th birthday on December 15. On this occasion, City Councilor Raymond Masse presented him with the city medal. He was accompanied by his family and his wife, Colette, 97, with whom he shares room 142. “A double room became available when they arrived here in October 2023”, explains Joël, their eldest son.

More than 70 years of life together with Colette

Photos of their three children, their six grandchildren and their seven great-grandchildren decorate the walls of this living space. The two lovers have been inseparable since they met on a train in 1948. At that time, Jean was a mechanic fitter in the Navy and Colette worked as a secretary in a carpentry company in Annecy. Jean was returning from a mission in Orange, where his parents lived.“The trains were packed after the war. In the corridor, Colette sat on my bag, for lack of space elsewhere. We talked and she asked me to send her postcards from the regions I traveled through thanks to my job in the Navy.” The two would then exchange letters for months. Jean would visit Colette several times in Annecy. “My father-in-law was worried. He was afraid that we would celebrate Easter before Palm Sunday, he says with a laugh. He went to tell my parents that we had to get married.” On April 23, 1949, they said yes in Orange.

A move to Bagnols in 1958

The couple moved into an apartment in Escanaux in 1958, when Jean left the Navy to begin a career as a mechanical engineer at the CEA. Bagnols-sur-Cèze was still a small town of 4,500 souls. “At the time, Marcoule was an arsenal. Many former soldiers were recruited. General de Gaulle's instructions were to produce as much plutonium as possible. He had also come to see the first plutonium ingot when I was there.” Intact memories that he takes great pleasure in sharing today.

Jean and Colette spent their retirement in their house built in Le Bosquet in 1963. “I was very busy when I stopped working, I didn't have time to be idle! I would have preferred to go fishing more often in the Ardèche.” He can't go there anymore today but he still doesn't have time to get bored. At the nursing home, the morning is devoted to care. “I still take the time to read the newspaper every morning”, confides this loyal subscriber of Midi Libre (since 1958!). In the afternoons, he shares activities with the other residents and Colette is never far away.

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