“Don’t worry” works for centenarian
Margaret Froment had a twinkle in her eye Saturday afternoon as she enjoyed birthday cake and a glass of wine at Lakeview Lodge in West Kelowna with staff, family and friends to celebrate her 108th birthday.
While her hearing is deteriorating, Froment can see. Her mind is sharp and her attitude is positive.
She has been a faithful reader of The Daily Courier since moving to the Westside in 1976 and still reads the newspaper six days a week, first thing in the morning.
She enjoys Baileys Irish Cream in her coffee and, apart from a heart patch, she doesn’t use any medication.
Froment liked to be active and was still using a treadmill at 102. She now uses a wheelchair.
She has been a resident at Lakeview Lodge, a long-term care facility, since 2013.
Born in 1910 on a farm in Eden, South Dakota, Froment was the first of six children.
She didn’t speak any English, just German.
Froment likes to tell the story of when the teacher asked her to sweep the floor in the old country schoolhouse during her first year at school in 1916. It scared her so badly she dropped the broom and ran home.
In 1943, she and her husband, Ernest McLarty, along with their five children, moved to a granary in Dawson Creek with no running water or electricity.
In 1976, they moved to Westbank. McLarty died in 1991, and Froment married Phil Froment later that year.
She travelled the world, with trips including Europe, Israel, Barbados, an African safari, and cruising the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
She has 14 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren.
She celebrated her birthday with family time in the morning, Chinese food for lunch, and cake with family, friends.
Her son came from Spain and her daughter from Nevada to celebrate her birthday with her.
As for her secret to living so long, Froment said, “Don’t worry.”