Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Advice from centenarian: ‘Laugh at least once a day’
Evelyn Dulick, a St. Martha Center resident, turns 101 on Friday
DOWNINGTOWN » Evelyn Dulick says her secret to being 100 years old, with her birthday coming Friday, is that you have to “laugh at least once a day.”
Dulick celebrated her 101st birthday with her family and friends at St. Martha Center in Downingtown on Saturday. She turns 101 years old on Oct. 13.
The staff described Evelyn as a treasure of knowledge and wisdom to everyone. She has been a resident at St. Martha Center for the past three years, where she is known for her sense of humor and her lively personality.
Dulick was born and raised in Harrisburg at a time when automobiles were still rare and airplanes were just appearing. Dulick loves talking about her childhood, a time when most traffic was still moving by horse-drawn vehicles. She still remembers the fire trucks racing through the streets with sparks flying from the horse’s hooves. Dulick loves all animals, from domestic pets to wild creatures, and those horses from the past are a special memory for her.
After attending St. Francis of Assisi grade school and Catholic High School in Harrisburg, she worked as a telephone operator until her marriage in 1939 to Anthony Dulik. Evelyn and Tony raised five children and moved from Harrisburg to Havertown, Delaware County. During her children’s school years, she was an active supporter of their schools, especially serving as a “band mother” during her son’s high school years. As they grew up, Dulick returned to work first as a sales clerk and later as a secretary.
Dulick has always loved to travel and when they could get away, she and her husband visited many sites of interest in the United States. Full of adventure, she even rode an army mule down the Grand Canyon. When they reached the bottom, she refused to get off the mule’s back, and said, “If I get off this animal, I will never get back on again.”
Once retired, Evelyn and Tony traveled further with special trips to China, Russia, Greece and Israel.
In addition to their five children, Evelyn and Tony enjoyed spending time with their six grandchildren and 12 greatgrandchildren. They celebrated 67 years of marriage before Tony’s passing in 2007. Dulick says that the secret to living a long and happy life is simple: “you live the best that you can and laugh at least once a day.”