Happy 107th Birthday Lorena, we’re proud to call you our friend.

Lorena was born June 13^th, 1909 in Dunkirk, New York. She was an only child and her parents were very protective of her. She shared with me that she was not even allowed to ride a bicycle as they felt it was too dangerous. When Lorena was about 4 years old, she went to visit her friend. She saw a nub of a pencil on a table and decided to take it (without asking). When Lorena went home, and her mother saw what she had done, she make Lorena go back and return the pencil. Her friend’s mother chuckled when she confessed what she had done. She told her she could keep the pencil. Lorena shared with me after that day (103 years ago) she never took anything without it being offered to her. The pencil she now proudly owned made her feel excited about learning. In her heart, she felt this was her first feeling of wanting to be a teacher. At the age of 19, her dream had come true. Her annual income for the year was $1,000.00. The following year her salary, as well as all of the other teacher’s pay, was cut 10% because of the Great Depression.

One year Lorena and her friends had heard that Niagara Falls had frozen over. They decided to venture there and they walked on the falls. This is one time when Lorena can say she walked on water. The police were called so they hurried and left the scene before they were caught. Years later, Lorena met the love of her life, Alllie.  They were married and two years later they had a beautiful baby girl named Alicia. After teaching in Dunkirk for 37 years, it was time to move to Florida. Cape Coral was their new found home. The teaching bug was still in Lorena’s blood. She taught at Cape Coral’s only elementary school for 11 years. Now it was time to retire. However, Lorena continued to be very active in the community. One of the proudest moments of her life was when she was the Grand Marshal in the Disney World Parade on her 80^th birthday.

Another big celebration was about to take place in Lorena’s life. She was going to turn 100. A party was planned and many guests were invited. Lorena was concerned that she would receive gifts she did not need. We asked the guests, if they felt they needed to bring something, non-perishable food items or a monetary gift would gladly be accepted. Her gifts were donated to the Cape Coral Caring Center (our local food bank). To this day, Lorena can still tell you the amount of food in weight and also the dollar amount that was donated. With many of the celebrations we have been fortunate to share with Lorena here are a few more that come to mind. Sharing that she was not allowed to ride a bicycle as a child, I asked her “what about a motorcycle”? “Oh heavens no, my dear” was her reply. I asked her if she was up to the challenge and she agreed to give it a try.   Rolling Thunder of Naples offered their services for this event. They had a caravan of motorcycles lined up. Lorena even agreed for me to apply a temporary tattoo on her arm. She was thrilled after returning from her ride and asked about going to Tampa next time. Many of our residents were delighted and went for rides as well. Later that year Lorena was made an honorary member of Rolling Thunder. They presented her with a vest and had a wonderful ceremony.

Another year we asked our local Fire Department to come and help us celebrate her day. They came dressed in full gear along with a fire extinguisher to help put out the candles. She was pleased but assured them she was very capable of blowing out all of her candles on her own. After the celebration we took Lorena out to take photos. They asked her if she wanted to ride on the fire truck. She replied “No, the steps were too high for me to step up to”. One fireman asked her to put her arms around his neck (she was very pleased with that request). He lifted her up and placed her in the front seat of the truck. She went for a ride and when they returned the sirens and lights were on.

Her celebration last year was a littler simpler as she requested. We invited her favorite entertainer, Greg Miller. She shared she was flattered that he came to her birthday party. We had students from one of our local high school help us decorate. We blew up 106 balloons (with the assistance of a helium tank). Her family and close friends along with our residents and staff were honored to be part of this delightful and amazing celebration. Lorena is a kind and gentle soul. You can bet she will always greet you with a smile. Her attitude is positive and uplifting. We are so privileged to call her our friend.