MINISTERING AT 102 PALMDALE WOMAN'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATED.Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer PALMDALE - Edith Flannery is 102, but she still gets around. She needs a neighbor now to drive her, but she attends Bible study Bible study may refer to:
``I didn't think I'd live to 100 let alone 102,'' said Flannery, who credits 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. with ``being close to the Lord.'' A pastor's wife, she raised her husband's two children as her own. Born May 3, 1900 in Illinois, Flannery moved to Palmdale in 1965 - when she was 65 - with her husband, Perry, who had been pastor of a church in Pasadena. Though he was theoretically retired after moving to Palmdale, the couple visited the sick and took meals to homebound home·bound adj. Restricted or confined to home, as of an invalid. people. ``I did visitation VISITATION. The act of examining into the affairs of a corporation. 2. The power of visitation is applicable only to ecclesiastical and eleemosynary corporations. 1 Bl. Com. 480; 2 Kid on Corp. 174. in this church for years with my husband,'' said Flannery. ``And he's been gone for 15 years.'' Flannery still lives in the house she had shared with her husband in a 1950s subdivision in east Palmdale. A caretaker assists her in daily living. Neighbor Lou O'Connor has known Flannery since 1985 and drives her to church every Sunday and Tuesday. ``She's sharp as a tack and she has Irish humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was . You can tell the Irish in her because she comes back with all these funny jokes and quips,'' said O'Connor. Flannery is always cheerful, O'Conner said. ``One thing about Edith is, I've never heard her complain - never, never complains,'' O'Connor said. ``She always has a happy upbeat word for everybody. Even when you answer the phone ... she has some funny little thing to say. She's cute cute adj. cut·er, cut·est 1. Delightfully pretty or dainty. 2. Obviously contrived to charm; precious: "[He] as a bug's ear. Flannery still ministers, even at 102, O'Connor said. ``She doesn't go out, but she has a telephone ministry. People call her and the neighbors all around, they'll come to her for advice,'' she said. Flannery's birthday was celebrated at Tuesday's Bible study, which also drew the Foursquare Church's youngest member, 4-month-old Gabriel Ruiz. Flannery opened cards and gifts from her friends - angel statuettes and a bag of candy - before eating a pizza lunch and cake. ``Edith is our jewel,'' said the Rev. Richard Biddler. He added: ``I think she's absolutely one of the most wonderful people I've ever met in my life. She's faithful, dependable, she has a really sweet spirit. Sometimes that's what keeps you going, when you're feisty. She still has her own mind and seems to get up and get around doing things that she likes to do. I'm really proud of her.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Edith Flannery, 102, plays with 4-month-old Gabriel Ruiz, the youngest member of the Foursquare Church, as her mother, Brandy brandy [for brandywine, from Du.,=burnt, i.e., distilled, wine], strong alcoholic spirit distilled from wine or from marc, the residue of the wine press. The most noted brandy is cognac, made from white grapes in the Charente district of France. Ruiz, watches. (2 -- color) no caption (child holding Edith Flannery's hand) (3) Brenda Winkler Winkler may refer to:
n. pl. fes·tiv·i·ties 1. A joyous feast, holiday, or celebration; a festival. 2. The pleasure, joy, and gaiety of a festival or celebration. 3. . Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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