Ridley Park woman celebrates a special birthday
SPRINGFIELD >> During the past month, members of the Ridley Park Senior Club were excitedly planning a surprise 100th birthday celebration for their friend Marie Wissing, a longtime Ridley Park resident who has been a member of the club since its inception 35 years ago. Their plan was to surprise the new centenarian during the January senior club meeting at Ridley Park Borough Hall on Thursday with a cake and birthday festivities. Plans for Thursday’s celebration were derailed when Wissing was unexpectedly hospitalized a few weeks ago with congestive heart failure, and then sent to Harlee Manor for rehabilitation.
When friend Shirley Ruger, president of the Ridley Park Senior Club, visited Wissing last Sunday with a small cake to acknowledge her friend’s upcoming milestone birthday, she discovered that the staff at Harlee Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was cooking up plans for a small surprise party of their own for Tuesday, Jan. 8, the actual date of Wissing’s 100th birthday. Ruger and a group of other close friends and neighbors of the “birthday girl,” immediately went to work coordinating their party ideas with the staff at Harlee Manor to surprise their friend with a celebration to remember, complete with a catered luncheon menu, live entertainment and many good friends in attendance.
Wissing wiped away tears of surprise and joy as staff escorted her into the decorated Wicker Room of Harlee Manor. Guests and Harlee Manor staff hollered “surprise,” before placing a birthday crown on Wissing’s head and pinning a corsage and birthday button on her shirt.
“I wish you hadn’t done all this for me,” the guest of honor said quietly as she shook her head in disbelief, glancing around at the packed room of party guests in attendance, some spilling out into the hallway. “I thought that a couple of my friends might stop by to celebrate my birthday today, but I certainly didn’t expect all this!”
“She’s not used to people doing for her, because for her whole life, she has always been the one doing for others,” explained her longtime friend and neighbor John Beamon, who Wissing claims adopted her when he moved to her neighborhood 30 years ago. “Marie is a fantastic person who would do anything for anyone.”
Wissing and neighbors Vera Miller, 92, Dolores Young, 95, Bill Young, 94, and Eddie Capriotti, 96, are part of an informal subclub that they affectionately call the “90s group,” named to reflect their chronological ages. Last year, they said, their 90s clique went to celebrate Wissing’s 99th birthday at Erin Pub in Norwood. Wissing, who still lives independently in the same house on Deane Street that she shared with her
husband Albert “Wimpy” Wissing for 64 years, is within steps of Young, Miller and Capriotti, who all live on Tasker Street.
Wissing said that she lived a full life. Born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia, Marie “McCall” Wissing made a move to Lester after securing a job at age 20 at Westinghouse. She was coordinator of a file room at the company. She married Albert Wissing, with whom she celebrated 70 Years of marriage before his passing at age 94 in 2011. The Wissings bought their home in Ridley Park in 1955. The couple had one son, Jimmy, a U.S. Marine who was tragically killed in a car accident at age 19, near his base in South Carolina.
Wissing lived a life of community service. Up until five years ago, she volunteered at Taylor Hospital, aiding countless patients in numerous ways during her 50 years there.
“I always liked to help people,” Wissing said. “I don’t really know why, but I just always enjoyed it.”
She also volunteered to deliver meals on wheels for Schoolhouse Center in Folsom for over ten years. She is now a recipient of meals on wheels and Elaine Bazis, who currently delivers meals to the centenarian through the program, was among the party guests on Tuesday. Party guests expressed one compliment after the other about the guest of honor.
“Marie is a sweet, generous person,” Young said affectionately.
“She’s a kind person,” added Capriotti who has been friends with the guest of honor for over half of a century. “When my late wife Anna was sick with Alzheimers, Marie and her husband Wimpy visited her all the time. I will never forget that.”
“I don’t think that I ever met anyone who doesn’t love her,” added Beth Ann Scanlon, whose late mother Theresa was one of Wissing’s best friends.
“I honestly never saw Marie without a smile on her face,” said Mary Fries, a friend and neighbor in attendance whose home is located back-to-back with Wissing’s.
Wissing said she enjoyed many pastimes through the years, including golfing and participation on bowling teams. In addition to being a member of Ridley Park Presbyterian Church, the centenarian also was an active member of the former Young at Heart Club of Ridley Park. The Wissings were fortunate to spend winters in sunny Florida for 18 years. She is also an avid card player, having played in two bridge groups and is still known, according to her friends, to play a mean game of pinochle.
“Marie is sharp as a tack,” Ruger said. “She holds her own in cards. And at bingo, she sometimes plays nine cards at a time.”
Her friends said that Wissing was extremely lucky a few years ago when she won $5,000 playing the slots at Harrah’s in Chester.
“Guess what I did with the winnings?” Wissing said proudly, with a wide grin. “I paid my taxes.”
Living through decades of history and countless changes in the age of technology, Wissing was asked what the most life-changing event was in her lifetime.
“My life changed dramatically on the day that I lost my husband,” Wissing said. “He was my partner and my life.”
When asked about the secret to her longevity, Wissing, who never smoked and only drinks alcohol once every year when she enjoys an annual Brandy Alexander, took time to ponder the question.
“Live clean, be truthful and be friendly to everyone,” the centenarian responded, as she glanced around, beaming. “And you’ll have a good life and great friends, like the people in this room.”