Woonsocket woman turns 102
Gertrude Garand’s milestone day recognized by City Council
WOONSOCKET — If Gert Garand is any proof, you don’t have to train like a New England Patriot to live a long, rich life, but rooting for quarterback Tom Brady might help.
“I’m a sports fan,” says The Friendly Home resident who turns 102 years old today. “I love all sports.”
Alifelong city resident who worked 20 years in a paper tube factory, Garand believes in moderation in all things. But if there are secrets to her longevity, a formal exercise regimen wasn’t among them.
“I never did any of those things,” she says with a dismissive, don’t-believe-everything-you-read tone.
“She never drank,” says her daughter, Lucille Richard. “She never smoked.”
The City Council recognized Garand this week, passing a resolution honoring her upon the occasion of her birthday. It was a fitting tribute, since Garand’s second-favorite TV fare – right behind sports – is watching the bimonthly meeting of the panel on the local access channel.
But she gets to see Council President Daniel Gendron a little more often than twice a month, because he also works as the facilities manager at The Friendly Home.
“Her attitude is an inspiration to many of the people at the nursing home,” says Gendron. “It’s a pleasure to know her and to be part of her birthday celebration.”
During a visit with their mother at the Rhodes Avenue facility earlier this week, Richard and her twin sister, Pauline Dufresne, say family members still pick up their mother for family outings two or three times a week.
It wasn’t long ago – less than a year, in fact – that Garand was still living on her own at her home on Loring Street. She loved cooking a big feed for a whole slew of relatives on the week- ends.
“Every Sunday, the whole family would meet there and she’d bake everything, rice pudding, pies…” says Dufresne.
Garand fell down at home and broke her hip, but even that wasn’t enough to land her in a nursing home. She recovered and went back to her house after the injury, her daughters say. But when she fell a second time, cutting her head, relatives grew increasingly concerned about their ability to look after Garand.
The most vivid recollection of their mother’s reaction after falling the second time was how impervious to pain she seemed at the hospital. She didn’t even wince as doctors stitched up the head wound. Today, Garand says still feels pretty good. “I don’t feel any different,” she says. Garand has been independent for many years because her husband died of a brain tumor when he was just 57 years old. She worked in a long string of factories, including a jewelry manufacturer in Attleboro and a metals fabricating plant in Sharon, Mass.
Raised on East School Street, she spent about two decades working at a paper tube factory that was within walking distance of her home, her longest stint in any job. She also did a little stretch at the Tupperware factory in North Smithfield.
Every other Monday of the month, Garand tunes into the council meetings because “I like hearing their opinions.” Well, not always. “Sometimes they overdo it,” she says. “But what you gonna do? It’s their opinion. That’s what they’re there for, to say what they think.”
Family members will pick up Garand today and take her to one of their homes, where they’ll slice up a birthday cake to mark the milestone. It could be a crowded house. “We’re five generations now,” says Richard. “She’s a great-great grandmother.”