100 and Counting

Lely Palms Senior Living Community threw a party for six special ladies on October 11, a birthday party even though just one of the celebrants actually has an October birthday. What they all have in common is triple digits – the six have all reached the century mark, with ages ranging from 100 to 105.

Teresa Heitmann, Mayor of the City of Naples, showed up to present a proclamation honoring the centenarians. There was a luncheon for about 100 community members, family and friends who came to be part of the celebration, a champagne toast, and lots of hugging and good wishes. 

As is customary, even inevitable, when talking to people who have reached a ripe old age, the celebrants were asked to what they owe their longevity. They gave varying answers, but one constant, unifying theme that came through was PMA – positive mental attitude. And while etiquette dictates one does not ask a lady her age, these women were proud to share their statistics, wearing their hundred-plus years as a badge of honor. 

They are Nancy Schumacker, 102; Lillian Sciacchitano, 100; Virginia Siemianowski, 102; Yolanda Tenaglio, 100; Velma Huson, 100; and Mary Thompson, 105. 

Sitting down and talking with a few of them, the women all radiated positivity, curiosity, and enjoyment of life. Mary Thompson, the “senior citizen” of the group, said one secret to her continued health was walking everywhere. “I stayed on my feet, not on my behind,” she said. Schumacker agreed that activities and walking daily are key. Velma Huson also credited “staying active,” along with golf and “being close to my family.” 

Lillian said “my father made me take a spoonful of cod liver oil daily,” while Yolanda had a more appetizing health secret. She has “had a glass of wine at dinner since I was five years old,” she said. Virginia “Ginny” Siemianowski still plays the piano and demonstrated on the baby grand in the Lely Palms lobby with a few bars of “As Time Goes By,” which would make an appropriate theme song for the six. 

She saw the film “Casablanca” (which gave us “As Time Goes By”) when it first came out, as did many of the other six, but her favorite movie, said Ginny, was “Gone with the Wind.” Asked her secret to a long life, she said, “don’t worry – always be happy,” words that she lives by, according to Erin Sakmar, executive director of Lely Palms. “She’s the life of the party,” said Sakmar. 

Remarkably, three of the six being celebrated live in the independent living wing at Lely Palms, located at the intersection of Rattlesnake Hammock Rd. and St. Andrews Blvd. in East Naples. The other three have transitioned to assisted living, but that still means they are not in the adjacent nursing home also operated at Lely Palms.

All of the ladies have had long, eventful lives, married and buried husbands, seen virtually all of their contemporaries pass away, and seen the world vastly change from what they knew as a child. They are also all female, something to give pause to the men who read – or write – these words. These are some of the last representatives of the “greatest generation” still with us, and they are worthy of the attention being paid to them, said Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann. 

“It really was my honor to go, for the second year in a row, to honor these women who have seen such challenges,” Heitmann said. “They are vibrant and vital members of our community. Getting to know a little bit about them, their lives and what they’ve been through gives me great joy. They are well-deserving of the recognition.”

What causes people to live a long life? “God knows,” said Ginny Siemianowski. “But we’re happy people. We’re all friends.”