Valentine for a Lovely Lady One Hundred Years Young
Aunt Rose and Me During One of Her Many B-day Celebrations
“Work hard. Be busy doing something. Keep your mind going. Keep interested in things.”
Rose Cronin, on the eve of her 100th birthday
I’ve been thinking about these words of wisdom a lot lately. I believe on some level, we’re all looking for the secret to life, the magic formula that will help us to live long, happy and productive lives. So these days if I feel a bit woeful or underwhelmed by what I’ve accomplished in my day, I think about my Aunt Rose, my Dad’s older sister. I consider what has been motivating her all these years.
Aunt Rose turned one hundred early this month. She still lives alone although an array of devoted family members and friends look in on her daily. And when I rang her up on the eve of her milestone birthday, she informed me that she planned to go back to work at the hospital a few days a week come March. (She takes a breather during the dead of winter since driving in the northeast where she lives can be dicey during this time. Rose gave up driving two years ago yet is still considerate of others.)
Since 1978, Rose Cronin (née Clemente) has devoted more than 83,500 hours of community service to St. Mary’s Hospital in Troy, NY, mostly at the hospital’s gift shop which was recently renamed Rose’s Gift Gallery. She worked more than twenty-two years as the shop’s manager and now enjoys a hopefully less stressful position selling raffle tickets to passersby outside of the Gallery. Who could refuse a sweet, little old lady? In the last ten years, my Aunt Rose has raised over $100,000 to help with the purchase of much-needed equipment for the hospital’s emergency room from the sale of raffle tickets alone.
“A lot of people make one hundred today. Years ago it was a novelty,” Aunt Rose says during our phone conversation. Still though I’m sure she realizes the significance of such an event as she expressed much appreciation for how thoughtful everyone has been about remembering her birthday. We chatted about the big surprise party the hospital put on for her birthday and the seemingly endless stream of cards and flowers that had been arriving at her door.
“I’ll send something to you more toward the end of the month, Aunt Rose,” I told her. “I don’t want you to experience a letdown and suddenly find your mailbox empty, “ I added. We laughed and then it occurred to me that maybe that was silly since this was surely one lady that didn’t let a letdown get her down.
She has been a great inspiration for me over the years for her solid work ethic, her love and concern for people overall, her openness and her passion for the written word. She visited me in Paris over two decades ago with other family members reaffirming something I’d already suspected: she possesses a curiosity and zest for life that surpasses the geographic boundaries she has known most of her life. That transatlantic trip was huge for her since the bulk of her travels has been through books. As an avid reader, Aunt Rose has encouraged my writing pursuits more than I could ever imagine, especially from someone that lived through the vast challenges of the Depression. Even more surprisingly, she even seems to “get” that I’m enjoying this new phase as a ski instructor.
After nearly an hour’s chat, it felt like it was time to sign off. I expressed my love for her and wished her a wonderful birthday.
She did the same to me and added, “Have a great day and keep it going!”
Clearly that’s the spirit that makes one live well to a hundred. I wish you many more happy birthdays, dear Aunt Rose, one heck of a sunny Valentine.
For more on Rose, check out:
Hospital Volunteer Rose Cronin, 100 Honored (includes video)
Longtime Volunteer, 99-Year-Old Rose Cronin Celebrated for Life, Generosity
