AT 105, SHE'S HAVING FUN AS A PARTY GIRL.Byline: MARK KELLAMvalleynews.com Edith Hooper hoop·er n. A maker or repairer of barrels and tubs; a cooper. turned 105 on Wednesday in grand style. First, a party was held Sunday at Sherman Oaks Methodist Church, where she's been a member for 56 years. Then, the morning of her birthday, the Sherman Oaks Woman's Club held a bash. In the afternoon, all of her friends at the Gardens at Lake Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). -- where she's lived since 2001 -- threw her a party. Still sharp as a tack, Hooper shared the secret to her longevity longevity (lŏnjĕv`ĭtē), term denoting the length or duration of the life of an animal or plant, often used to indicate an unusually long life. : "I say, 'clean living,' but then people say, 'Well, that's no fun,'" she said, laughing. "I eat a lot of fruit; maybe that's it." She also does a crossword puzzle crossword puzzle, word game in which words corresponding to numbered clues are put into a grid of horizontal and vertical squares to form intersecting words. The puzzle is solved when a player supplies all of the words correctly. every day and occasionally plays bridge to keep her mind active. Hooper, who was born in Baltimore, Md., has been married twice. She and her first husband, Bryant Cratty, moved to North Hollywood in 1929. After a few years, they moved back to Baltimore. "But after one winter there, my husband said, 'No more' and we moved back to California," she said. This time, they moved to Sherman Oaks. Edith and Bryant had three children -- Jack and Jim, and a daughter, Pat. Edith Hooper worked from 1948 to 1952 selling handbags at The Broadway, a department store at Hollywood and Vine for many years. She then worked at Technicolor until 1967 as a secretary to a color correctionist. She would be at work every day at 5:30 a.m. to make sure the movie "dailies" were ready for directors to review. Her boss would joke about her age -- she was in her mid-60s at the time. "He would say I was a waitress at the Last Supper Last Supper, in the New Testament, meal taken by Jesus and his disciples on the eve of the passion. Jesus broke bread and passed a cup of wine among the disciples, identifying himself with the bread and the wine and linking the meal to his impending death on the ," Hooper said, with a chuckle chuck·le intr.v. chuck·led, chuck·ling, chuck·les 1. To laugh quietly or to oneself. 2. To cluck or chuck, as a hen. n. A quiet laugh of mild amusement or satisfaction. . Her first husband died in 1960. At age 81, Edith married Henry Hooper. "We were married at my son Jack's home in Bel-Air," she said, recalling it was one of the most memorable days in her life. "And we honeymooned in Malibu." Church is a big part of Hooper's life. "They pick me up in the church van every Sunday," she said. At her party at the Sherman Oaks Woman's Club, the entertainment included Robert Galbreath, a singer in her church choir choir [O.Fr.] 1 A group of singers; traditionally the chorus organized to sing in a church. Usually, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran choirs are composed of men and boys, but occasionally in these churches and customarily in other Protestant . "He sang 'How Great Thou Art.' That was my treat," Hooper said. "It was so beautiful. He has a God-given voice." For now, Edith enjoys her friends and family. She has five grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. and seven great-grandchildren. And she takes things one day at a time One Day at a Time is a long-running American situation comedy that portrayed a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters (Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli) and their building superintendent (Pat Harrington, Jr.). , jokingly telling friends, "When you sing 'Happy Birthday,' don't sing 'and many more' at the end." When asked what she's been doing since turning 100, Edith smiled and lifted her hands in the air: "Just having fun." CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Edith Hooper is all dressed up for a party at the Gardens at Lake Balboa to celebrate her 105th birthday. Mark Kellam/valleynews.com |
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