Sweet 116: town throws birthday bash for America’s oldest person
In the small, northern California town of Willits, the birthday of Edie Ceccarelli – the oldest person in the US – has become a bit of a holiday.
Well into her 100s, she would throw herself huge birthday parties at a local events hall, or at a senior center – and invite the whole town. But for the past few years, the town has taken over, organizing a parade in her honor.
On Sunday, for Ceccarelli’s 116th birthday party, a winter storm in the region had closed highways and felled trees. But the rain eased just in time.
Outside, local officials were waiting for her with a proclamation honoring a long life well lived. The local dog walker, along with about 15 dogs, opened the parade for her, followed by the fire brigade, the garbage truck, and a line of cars decked in streamers and balloons.
A trio of moustachioed local musicians serenaded her with guitars. Some small children dropped off flowers and handmade cards wishing her a happy birthday.
At 116, Ceccarelli has slowed down considerably. And while she fades in and out of lucidity due to dementia, on the morning of her party she was pleased to learn that everyone was there for her. “Oh!” she said, as her caregiver straightened out her sweater and helped freshen up her lipstick – L’Oréal True Red.
She waved at the gaggle of press photographers and videographers. About 10 minutes into her birthday parade, she got too cold and tired, and needed to go back inside. But the festooned cars kept coming.
Ceccarelli has earned the rare distinction of supercentenarian, a person who has lived past 110; she is the second-oldest person in the world.
She was born and raised here, among the towering redwoods, in what used to be a lumber town. Most everybody in town knows her.
After the parade, a crowd of relatives and friends waited outside to see her, then filed inside one by one, till no more could fit.
“She is such a part of this community. So this is like, the third, fourth, fifth generation celebrating her,” said
Evelyn Persico, 83, a cousin by marriage. But there is a bittersweetness to the celebration. “Many of her people have passed. So many of her old-timers are gone,” she said.
She was born Edith Recagno in Willits on 5 February 1908, the year Henry Ford introduced the Model T. (A member of the local car club rumbled by in a restored Model T, as part of her birthday parade.)
She was the eldest of seven siblings, born to Italian immigrant parents who themselves lived into their 90s. Her father worked in lumber, and for a brief stint sold groceries and supplies from a horse-drawn wagon. She graduated school in 1927 and a few years later married her high school sweetheart, Elmer “Brick” Keenan, who went on to work as a typesetter for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the regional paper. The couple adopted a daughter, Laureen, who grew up to have three children of her own.
After her husband’s death, she was remarried to Charles Cecarrelli for four years, before he died. By now, Ceccarelli has outlived all of her immediate family.
In 2012, when she was 104, she lost her longtime friend and dance partner, Ed Burton. But she wasn’t ready to stop dancing. So she put out a letter in the local paper.
“I, Edith Ceccarelli, would like to keep on dancing, as would have my late friend and dance partner Ed Burton, whom I miss beyond words,” she wrote. “I am looking for a dance partner. Dancing keeps your limbs strong. What is nicer than holding a lovely lady in your arms and dancing a beautiful waltz or two-step together? Try it, you will like it.” She signed off with her phone number.
A couple of people did respond, but nothing quite clicked. “I tried dancing with her a couple of times,” said her second cousin Chuck Persico, 79. “But I couldn’t keep up.”
Finally, at 109, she moved into Willits’ Holy Spirit Residential Care Home, a small senior living facility where she lives with five other seniors. Cousins and friends visit with her, and her caretaker helps her keep her mouth rouged and her nails painted (cherry red, usually).
Persico, one of Ceccarelli’s closest confidantes, now works with Ceccarelli’s care team. They came up with the idea of throwing her a parade during the Covid-19 pandemic – it was a way to throw her a party, but from a safe distance.
People keep asking her – and her friends and family – what the secret is to her longevity. Is it all that dancing? Or just good Italian genes? Is it the fresh northern California air, or the proximity to the region’s towering, ancient redwoods?
Her usual response: “two fingers of red wine” and minding her own business.
The world’s oldest person – María Branyas Morera – has said much the same. Branyas, who lives in Spain but was also born in California, wrote in a tweet last year that her secret was “order, tranquillity, good connection with family and friends”.
“I’ve kind of adapted that too,” said Taylor Day, 29, one of Ceccarelli’s youngest relatives. “A glass of red wine, and happiness.”