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Still full of life, personality at 100

By Times Staff
Published February 14, 2006

Anna Kuckmann might have reached more than a century mark, but she showed the world that she was not quite ready to give up dancing - even at 101.

To celebrate her birthday last week, the petite German woman was the belle of the ball at Manor Care Palm Harbor nursing home, her home for six months after breaking a hip.

Despite the pain in her hip, the centenarian showed the mettle that brought her through two wars as she glided about the floor - with a little help from family.

Born Feb. 12, 1905, in Prague, Czech Republic, she was the eldest of three children born to Beatrice and Joseph Jicha. She was only 5 when her family started moving around Europe, first to Germany and later to Belgium.

In Belgium, she worked as a hospital dietitian and did commercial knitting and met and married the love of her life, Bernard Kuckmann.

He died in 1945. The couple had one daughter, Beatrice Casanova.

For many years the mother and daughter lived in Chile and Peru then came to this country, first to Miami and later to Oakland, Calif., before coming to the Suncoast. Mrs. Kuckmann is quick to confess that although Florida is lovely, when she moved with her daughter and family to Palm Harbor, she did truly leave her heart in San Francisco.

Mrs. Kuckmann never learned to drive a car. Her favorite activity for many years was bicycling. She also enjoyed gardening, reading and solving jigsaw puzzles.

But it has always been travel that has been on the top of her list of things to do. She cherishes memories of being serenaded by Don Ho in Hawaii and Tony Bennett in San Francisco.

Her philosophy about living a long life is this: "Always look at the bright side with a positive attitude. Enjoy each day to the fullest and accept people as they are, without prejudice.

"Don't argue! Use a smile and a kind word. It will do wonders."

Amid festive balloons and surrounded by family and friends, Mrs. Frances Peterman celebrated her 105th birthday on Feb. 9 at Highland Pines Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Clearwater, where she has lived since October 2005.

The centenarian held court beside an array of fresh flowers that framed a large birthday cake. She seemed a little overwhelmed by all the attention, exclaiming, "This is more than I expected in my lifetime!" and dabbed away a tear.

Mrs. Peterman was born Frances Lavine in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1901 to Eastern European immigrants Phillip and Leah Lavine. She was one of eight children. She put her talents with a needle and thread to work as a milliner, starting her first job when she was young. She worked in a showroom on 39th Street in New York City, designing and creating samples of hats that big-name buyers would place orders for.

As a testament to Mrs. Peterman's skill, her stepdaughter, Louise Smith, produced two stunning Easter hats that Mrs. Peterman made for her decades ago. As admirers oohed and ahhed over the frilly, feminine, hand-sewn silk flowers, Louise Smith admitted, "They are so beautiful I could never bear to part with them."

Four generations then gathered for photographs as the delicate strains of Let Me Call You Sweetheart drifted through the room of well-wishers. Keyboardist and singer Diana Hoffman paused to say, "Frances was 9 when this song was written!"

Louise gazed at her mother fondly, remarking that her memory is great, her eyesight is sharp, and she has a fine sense of humor. "She loves reading, the television shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, and still figures out the daily word puzzles in the newspaper." Recently, Louise crowed to her mother that she and her husband finished the word puzzle in only 15 minutes. Louise said her mother replied glibly, "I finished it in 10."

Granddaughters Cookie Wegman and Linda Ganglehoff related a story about a cross-country trip their grandmother took in her youth. In 1924, Mrs. Peterman and a girlfriend hitchhiked from New York to California.

"Nana told me they dressed like schoolteachers and wouldn't accept rides if there was more than one man in the car," Cookie said with a chuckle.

Linda recalled her grandmother reporting, upon reaching Las Vegas, that there was only one gas station. Frances and her girlfriend arrived in California without incident and spent a year there supporting themselves with their millinery skills before returning to New York.

Frances met her future husband, Paul Peterman, at a social function in New York City. The couple married in 1944 and took up residence in Jackson Heights, in the western Queens borough of New York City. In 1968, the Petermans moved to Clearwater, where Paul worked as a property appraiser and Frances, now retired, volunteered her sewing skills at Morton Plant Hospital, amassing 3,200 hours doing what she loved: making lap robes, baby blankets and tiny, stuffed dolls for children.

In addition to her stepdaughter and two granddaughters, Mrs. Peterman has a grandson, Paul Smith of Oldsmar, and a sister, Gloria LaRue, who lives in California, as well as six great-grandchildren.

At age 94, Frances accompanied granddaughter Cookie on a trip to Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park and Bodie Gold Mine in California.

"Nana loves the Old West," Cookie said. "We visited Yosemite in the summer and drove over the Tioga Pass. The elevation was more than 9,000 feet and Nana did famously. We even stopped so she could throw snowballs!"

As if on cue, Mrs. Peterman quipped, "I want to be 5, not 105," as she and her friends and family snacked on cake and punch in celebration of 105 years of living.

Couples celebrate

decades together

Ann and Herbert Glickstein of Dunedin celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary with a family cruise on the Starlite Princess. They were married Jan. 18, 1947, in New York City.

They came here in 1990 from New York, where he retired as a truck driver and she as a clerk for the Social Security Administration. They have four children and 11 grandchildren. They are active volunteers for various functions in their condo association and are members of the Hale Senior Center.

 Pat and Lee Gendron of Clearwater celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a weeklong cruise in the Western Caribbean.

She was born in Clearwater, attended North Ward Elementary School and graduated from Clearwater High School in 1947. He came here in 1951 from Maine. They were introduced in October 1955 by a mutual friend and were married three months later, on Jan. 20, 1956, in Clearwater.

He was an aircraft and engine mechanic for five years at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, with the rank of staff sergeant. He retired after 31 years as a Clearwater letter carrier.

They have two daughters, Katie Miller of Tarpon Springs and Bernie Barrett of Clearwater, and two granddaughters, Heather and Amber.

They are members of St. Cecelia Catholic Church, Clearwater, where he served for 10 years as an usher, and enjoy traveling, cruising, fishing, gardening and playing casino slot machines. He is a member of Turner Brandon American Legion Post 7, Clearwater, and the National Association of Letter Carriers.

--Times staff writer Nova Beall contributed to this report. For information or an anniversary form, call 727 445-4109. To submit an item to Good for You, write to Betsy Bolger-Paulet, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756, fax to (727) 445-4119 or e-mail to paulet@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 14, 2006, 02:45:31]