Edie Ceccarelli will be 114 years old on Saturday
Oldest native Californian to be honored and celebrated
The Frank R. Howard Foundation and the Holy Spirit Residential Care Home have teamed up to plan a Covid-safe birthday celebration for the woman thought to be the oldest native Californian, locally beloved Edie Ceccarelli. On Ceccarelli’s 114th birthday, Feb. 5, she will be honored and celebrated with a driveby parade.
Those participating in the parade are encouraged to decorate their cars with signs, streamers, balloons and flags. Ceccarelli will sit on the porch and watch the parade go by. Avenues to Wellness Program Manager Suzanne Picette-Johnson said of the drive-by parade, “She really enjoyed it last year.”
The set up will be similar to last year with the Fire Department, Police Department and the City of Willits kicking off the parade. This year, the Willits Kids Club will be involved and Picette-Johnson said hopefully more horses will join and more decorations will be added to cars. She said, “We are really encouraging folks to decorate their cars.” She recommended the Dollar Store in the Evergreen Village Shopping Center as a good place to purchase affordable decorations in town.
Ceccarelli has lived at the Holy Spirit Residential Care Home for six years. PicetteJohnson said “They take great care of her.” Ceccarelli gets up and gets dressed daily, she remains mobile, walking room to room with the aid of her walker. Picette-Johnson explained, “She is still active.”
According to her supercentenarian biography posted online at Gerontology, Ceccarelli was born in Willits on Feb. 5, 1908. She was the oldest of seven children born to Italian immigrants Agostino and Maria Recagno. Ceccarelli has resided in Willits for most of her life, aside from when she lived in Santa Rosa with her first husband, Elmer “Brick” Keenan, for approximately 36 years. After Keenan’s death, Ceccarelli married Charles Ceccarelli in 1984, who passed away in 1990.
Ceccarelli is the 16th oldest person in the world
and the sixth oldest in the United States. The small town of Willits has been celebrating Ceccarelli’s birthday for 14 years, although
the second pandemic of Ceccarelli’s life changed the pace of the celebration.
For her 100th birthday, nearly 500 people gathered
at the Little Lake Grange to celebrate the day. Subsequent but pre-pandemic birthdays have been celebrated by the community
at the Harrah Willits Senior Center.
Picette-Johnson said that Ceccarelli is still able to get out and enjoy her birthday celebration and encouraged community members to decorate their cars and help her celebrate turning 114 years old.
The parade route will begin on Haehl Creek Drive.
Go forward at the stop sign of Haehl Creek Drive and Grove Street. At the second stop sign intersection of Haehl Creek Drive and Grove Street, turn left onto Grove Street to drive by Ceccarelli’s home at the Holy Spirit Residential Care Home, located at 414 Grove St. The parade will occur between 1:30 and 2 p.m.