They say age is just a number. But for two Niverville centenarians, theirs marks a pretty significant number—100! Susana Doerksen and Mary Peters are both residents of the Heritage Life Personal Care Home in Niverville, and they are the first in the facility to reach this major milestone.
To commemorate the very special occasion, the staff threw a party, complete with live music, banners, balloons, cake, and special sashes for the women of honour. While resident birthday celebrations are nothing new here, this one meant pulling out all the stops to create a festive atmosphere in black and gold.
Family, guests, and residents crowded into the social room on May 17 to greet the birthday girls and enjoy the festivities. They tapped their feet and sang along to old-time classic hits performed by Al Andrusco, an impressive one-man band playing on the guitar, keyboard, and providing vocals.
The honourees, of course, stole the show—Mary with her birthday-red nails and tiara, Susana decorously wrapped in her special white and gold scarf. Both were among the first residents to enter the facility when it opened four years ago. Susana lives in the Crocus Lane neighbourhood of the PCH and Mary in Lilac Lane.
“Mary is all over the facility, so everybody knows her,” says Angela, full-time nurse of the Lilac Lane neighbourhood. “She walks everywhere from the time she gets up. You’ll never see her take a nap. She visits with people and is very social. She’s a people watcher. Sometimes she’s wandering from one unit to another and stopping to talk to people, then she’ll sit down and just watch.”
According to staff, Mary also likes to actively help outside in the gardens through the spring and summer. At 100 years of age, she still gets by with just a walker for balance.
Susana, restricted to a wheelchair, is not quite as active but loves to receive company, especially when they come bearing gifts of her traditional Mennonite foods.
“Her son comes every Wednesday and she looks forward to that,” says Melanie, nurse of the Crocus Lane neighbourhood.
Rajminder, another nurse in this wing, says that if there’s one thing Susana adores, it’s lemon wafers. She describes, with a glint in her eye, Susana’s endearingly stubborn determination in getting them.
“Even today [before her birthday party] she said, ‘If you will not bring a lemon wafer, I’m not going,” Rajminder laughs, remarking that at Susana’s age one doesn’t argue with the demand for simple pleasures.
For Mary, this was the second celebration of her big day. Her family threw another party on her actual birthday, May 13. Her daughter Caroline Charrette was there for both.
“She’s a pretty special person and you have to be pretty special and hardy to survive all these years,” says Caroline. “We went through hard times and good times. I think she’s a person that you strive to model your life after. She loves to laugh. She’s a generous person and caring.” As for her penchant for gardening, Caroline says that it’s in her mom’s veins. “She had a garden until she left her home when she was 97.”
Mary lived most of her years in the Morden and Altona area. For 20 years she continued to manage the homestead and gardens on her own proceeding her husband’s death. Caroline says it took about a year for her mom to make the emotional transition over moving straight from independence to a nursing home.
“For the most part she enjoys [the staff], as long as they’re friendly and happy and treat her kindly,” Caroline says. “That’s all she asks.”
Susana, too, will have a second party hosted by family around the time of her actual birthday, June 14. The family, many living far away, will convene at the PCH for her special day.
“She told me the other day that she must have been extraordinarily good to her parents because the Bible says that honouring your parents leads to a long life,” says Susana’s son Rick. “From what I remember, Mom was often sick, [and there were] many surgeries and hospitalizations. It seems like her health improved a lot when the kids left home. We tease her about that. I think that none of the family, including herself, ever expected to see such longevity.”
Susana moved to Niverville with her five young children after losing her husband and the farm in 1956. They lived with relatives until Susana could afford to rent and eventually own a small house where she raised the children on a very meagre income.
“Mom used to joke about being both a mother and a father,” Rick says. “In that role she could be strict and stubborn when she had to. Although she had very limited education, she loved to read. She volunteered as the church librarian for many decades and read every book that went on the shelf. She also liked games, cards, and socializing when her mobility was better.”
At the ripe age of 90, Susana moved to the Niverville Credit Union Manor and transitioned eventually to the PCH. Rick says her transition was difficult for a while because all of her friends stayed behind at the Manor. He is thankful, though, for the excellent care that she receives here, adding that she is well looked after by the doting staff.
