By LOIS KINDLE
Cypress Creek Assisted Living threw a big birthday bash last week to celebrate resident Theresa Francis’ 108th birthday.
Her 75-year-old daughter, Patricia Godfrey, was in attendance at the party, as well as at least 50 fellow residents, caregivers and Cypress Creek ALF.
“How old am I again?” she asked Godfrey, who replied 108. “Wow, that’s old!” she said.
Theresa Francis’ birthday cake in honor of her 108th trip around the sun is shown here at her recent birthday bash at Cypress Creek Assisted Living Residence
By the look on her face, 108-year-old Theresa Francis liked this giant balloon, part of the decor at her recent birthday at Cypress Creek Assisted Living Residence.
Theresa Francis, 108, has outlived every war and conflict in which the United States was involved since she was born; been alive through 26 presidential elections; seen the introduction of the television, computers and the Internet; and survived the 1918 Spanish flu and two rounds of COVID-19.
Cypress Creek Assisted Living resident Theresa Francis received 102 birthday cards in celebration of her 108th birthday.
COURTESY PHOTOS
Theresa Francis, right, stands beside her only daughter, Patricia Godfrey, for a birthday photo during her 108th birthday party on Aug. 24 [three days before her actual birthday] at Cypress Creek Assisted Living Residence in Ruskin.
Born in Queens, N.Y., in 1915, when Woodrow Wilson was United States president, Francis attributes her longevity to growing up on a farm, eating only good food and working hard. Back then, a loaf of bread cost 7 cents, a quart of milk, 9 cents and a dozen eggs 34 cents. The median home value was $3,200.
The centenarian has outlived every war and conflict in which the United States has engaged since her birth, and been alive through 26 presidential elections; seen the introduction of the television, computers and the Internet; and survived the 1918 Spanish flu and two rounds of COVID-19.
She was married for 53 years to her husband, Paul, a Navy sailor who survived the Japanese bombing and sinking of the U.S.S. Oklahoma during Pearl Harbor. They lived for many years in upstate New York, had their only daughter there and moved to Holiday in 1981. Her husband died in 1999.
Francis moved to Sun City Center in 2010. When she was 99, she started having balance issues and experienced a series of rather serious injuries. Two years later, she fell and broke her hip, which was the final straw, said Godfrey.
“We moved her to Cypress Creek Assisted Living,” she said. “And they’ve taken such good care of her ever since.”
Cypress Creek Assisted Living Residence went all out to celebrate birthday girl, Theresa Francis, who has one daughter, one granddaughter, three great grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren. Her one surviving sibling, brother Raymond Catapano, is 93.
At 108, Francis is no longer ambulatory and gets around in a wheelchair, has macular degeneration and is quite hard of hearing. She receives in-home hospice care and the assistance of two aides who work her “neighborhood” at the ALF. Nevertheless, she can still carry on a conversation and manages to keep high spirits.
The latter is something she’s done all her life, even though she didn’t have an easy life as a child, Godfrey said. “Only once have I ever seen her get angry,” she continued. “Anyone who knows her will tell you she’s an easy-going, happy person.
“I think she’s just happy to be alive,” Godfrey continued. “Whenever we visit my dad (who’s buried in the Bushnell National Cemetery), she pats his tombstone and says, “See you next year.”
