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100th birthday best for Aunt Bea
By BRADY DENNIS © St. Petersburg Times, published January 9, 2001 ZEPHYRHILLS -- Beatrice Thompson has lived through 18 U.S. presidents, the Great Depression, both world wars, the Vietnam War, bell bottoms and reruns of Gilligan's Island.
Still, she swears her 100th birthday Monday was better than the other 99. Why? Because four nieces and a nephew, ages 74 to 87, flew from as far as Iowa to spend it with her at East Pasco Medical Center. They celebrated with about 20 hospital staffers, a flurry of photographers and other well-wishers in a second-floor conference room. Thompson sat in her wheelchair, a pink corsage pinned to her white sweater, surrounded by three birthday cakes, a ceiling full of balloons and enough bouquets to start a flower shop. She smiled as her relatives reminisced about the woman they call "Aunt Bea." "She has done so much good work in this community," said nephew Norton Simmons, 80, of Wildwood. "She has been so active in her church and charity work. This gathering shows the respect people have for her." Thompson, who was born in Iowa and later retired to Zephyrhills with her husband, Charles, now lives at the Zephyr Haven nursing home. She never had any children of her own. Instead, she treated the children of her six sisters and one brother as if they were her own. "We all used to love to go to her house," said niece Miriam Gowdy, 87, of Belmond, Iowa. "It was just so much fun. She would teach me the popular songs of the day while she scrubbed the kitchen floors. "I wouldn't miss this. She only has her 100th birthday once." Others agreed. "It was a nice surprise to see how many of us were willing to travel so far," said niece Nancy Tobias, 74, of West Lafayette, La. "She's been so good to us for so many years." The crowd stood, joined hands and filled the room with a chorus of the Lord's Prayer. Afterward, they cut the cakes and handed out finger sandwiches. Aunt Bea sat nibbling her small piece of cake, her blue eyes peering from behind a wrinkled face, pondering her 100 years. "Well, it's taken a while to get here," she said, crediting athletics and volunteering for keeping her healthy. What about luck? "Yes, a little of that, too." - Brady Dennis covers the city of Zephyrhills and police in east Pasco. His phone number is 352-521-5757, ext. 23. His e-mail is dennis@sptimes.com.
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