Lucy Redo and her family celebrating her 100th birthday.
November 14th, 1923. Calvin Coolidge was in the Whitehouse, Pius XI was the pope, and Georgia Blues recorded by Ethel Waters was the number one song in the U.S.
November 14th, 2023, the number one song at Meadowview Assisted Living in Two Rivers was one we all sing many times a year, Happy Birthday.
Lucy Redo celebrated her 100th birthday with members of her family, as well as the nurses and residents of the home on Mishicot Road.
Lucy has led an incredible life. She was born in a small town just north of San Francisco, California, by her parents, who were Portuguese immigrants.
She eventually met her husband James through a mutual friend, and she left an indelible impact on him in quick fashion.
“On the second date, he asked me to marry him and I said “You have to be kidding! We’ve only known each other twice!” she recalled. “That was in January of one year, and we got married the following year, and life went on from there.”
Due to James’ job in the FAA and in the Security sector, the couple lived in places all over the world including California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Germany, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, and the Philippines, where she worked with the Red Cross during WWII.
“Bob Hope came there and performed at the hospital,” Lucy explained. “He had Martha Raye as a part of his troop, and she had been up in the wards where the guys were. They kinda delayed the program because she was overwhelmed by what she was seeing in the wards.”
Lucy said that the Philippines may have been her favorite home because “We had gardenia bushes growing out our front door, and there was a lot of flowers…and the people were very nice people.”
However, she also had a great time in Egypt.
She recalled some of her children climbing the pyramids, and riding Arab horses despite the fact that she had never ridden them before.
It wasn’t all good though, as she lost a child while living there. The newborn succumbed to toxemia, which is a blood poisoning caused by toxins from a local bacteria infection.
In total, Lucy had six children, who were born in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Germany, and Cyprus.
When asked what the key to a long life is, Lucy said.
“I have no idea,” she said with a smile. “Just good luck.”
Lucy is also an avid reader, focusing mainly on non-fiction works, specifically biographies.
Her family jokes that there isn’t a non-fiction book in the library she hasn’t read.
