On Sept. 14, Jane Williams will officially be centenarian.

She’ll be celebrating her 100th birthday that day. Williams was born Jane Lair in 1919 in Arkansas.

The longtime Manteca resident was 63 when she moved to the Central Valley, relocating here from the Bay Area with her husband H.J. Tomlinson. He was a developer who built one of the first tract homes in Manteca along Union Road.

Tomlinson was Williams’ second husband. Her first was Dominic DiMatteo, who she met not too long after moving to California from Arkansas.

“She was 17 when she left (Harrison) Arkansas and boarded a Greyhound bus and headed to Hayward,” said her daughter Donna (DiMatteo) Arnold.

That was 1936. She worked and lived with her brother, Clay.

During the U.S. involvement with World War II, she was married to DiMatteo and worked while her husband was fighting in WW II.

“She saved her money and after (Dominic) got home from the war, they moved to Oakland, where they opened a restaurant dinner house called the Diamond Horseshoe,” Donna Arnold said.

Williams lived in the Bay Area until Dominic DiMatteo’s death, marrying Tomlinson in 1956 and moving to Manteca soon after.

They purchased 40 acres on Louise Avenue, where Jane started raising registered Holstein cattle along with various farm animals.

“She also had a real fondness for dogs and cats and took in many homeless cats,” Donna, her daughter, recalled.

Jane Williams always maintained her garden and enjoyed canning fruits and vegetables. She cooked and baked, with strawberry pie being her favorite.

As for hobbies, Williams enjoyed fishing.

“She could out-fish the men in her group,” Arnold said. “She even caught a few extra fish over her limit from time to time.”

Those looking to celebrate this special occasion with Williams include her daughter Donna Arnold from Davis; granddaughter Terra Janeva (Traverso) Kanwitz and her husband, Alex, from Incline Village; grandson Murre John Traverso and his wife Margaret of Davis; great-granddaughter Shelby Jane Traverso of San Jose; and great-grandson Joey Vincent Traverso of Davis.