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PAGE 6 ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS OF MICHIGAN July 8, 2021

PLYMOUTH
PLYMOUTH

Happy birthdays

Plymouth seniors celebrate centennials

It was quite a party last month with witty sayings make people give her guidance and purpose.
when six Plymouth residents cel- smile. She eventually married Bob
ebrated more than 600 years of Her secret to a long life? Vinton, a friend of her late hus-
life experience. “Good nutrition, keep your mind band, and they adopted two girls.
The six were the guests of and body active and stay interest- Vinton now has several grand-
honor at a birthday party at ed in things.” children and great-grandchil-
Independence Village in Louis Plant was born in dren.
Plymouth celebrating the centen- Loiselleville. Ontario, Canada on Vinton, at 103, continues to
nial birthdays of five and the Jan. 7, 1921. He and his family write poetry and is the oldest res-
103rd birthday of another. eventually moved to the United ident at Independence Village.
The event included a visit States and after graduation, William Brown also marked
from Plymouth Mayor Oliver Plant worked as a bookkeeper in his 100th birthday during the cel- Independence Village residents and their families enjoy the centenni-
Wolcott who presented official Detroit. He enlisted in the Navy ebration. al birthday celebration.
city proclamations to each of the in 1942 following the attack on Brown was born in Syracuse,
guests of honor who also enjoyed Pearl Harbor and served as the NY on June 13 1921. A machinist,
lunch, birthday cake and live lead signalman for his ship han- he received an 18-month delay
music during the afternoon. dling the Morse code blinker before entering the U.S. Army
Among those celebrating was light and flag hoist. After being Corps of Engineers. His group
Jalileh Mansour who was born honorably discharged, Plant mar- was responsible for repairing
Aug. 15, 1921 in Ramallah, ried and he and his wife, Rita, roads, buildings and any other
Palestine. are the parents of three children. repairs needed at various areas.
Mansour, who has five broth- Evie Vinton, the oldest of the In 1946 he returned from the
ers and four sisters, remained birthday celebrants, was born on service to his wife, Mildred and
single and dedicated her life to July 5, 1918, in Grand Rapids. he eventually built a machine
education and world exploration. She married her sweetheart shop in Canton Township. He
She started her studies in “Frank” in 1940, but was wid- went on to get his pilot's license
Lebanon in math and science, owed when he was killed in a and fly a twin-engine airplane.
before traveling to places like plane crash while on a training The couple are the parents of
Jordan, Paris, and South mission. Distraught and needing three daughters and one son,
America. Mansour decided to fin- direction, she said, she joined along with nine grandchildren;
ish her bachelor's degree in 1956 the U.S. Army feeling it would 29 great-grandchildren, and two Jalilah Mansour Elaine Galbraith
in Alabama before a career great-great grandchildren with said the party was really a first
teaching middle school. another on the way. for this number of centenarians
She said her travels gave her Brown now spends his time at the facility. She said that in
the best experiences of her life, doing what he loves, he said, past years, there may have been
including meeting the King and building model airplanes and fly- as many as three marking the
Queen of Jordan. From continu- ing them, and flying his real air- one-century milestone, but never
ing her education in France and plane with his son. six.
Tennessee, to visiting Egypt, she Brown can still comfortably She said that while the resi-
said these were the best times in wear his World War II Army uni- dents may each have their own
her life. form, and said his secret to a long individual secret to longevity, she
She worked for 30 years at life, is his love for people. He believes there is one common
Henry Ford Hospital doing said he loves “to talk to people, factor.
research and retired in the early work with people. I've met peo- “We keep them engaged and
1980s. Before moving to ple all around the world and happy and, most importantly, we
Plymouth, she was a 30-year resi- found that they are so nice if you give them something to look for-
dent of Livonia and traveled fre- just talk to them.” ward to every day, which is the
quently to her two condos in Mayor Oliver Wolcott congratu- Independence Village ticket to longevity for all of us,”
Florida. lates the centenarians. Executive Director Debbie Hall she said. Bill Brown
“We didn't have cell phones,
and I travelled alone,” she
stressed.
She continues to pursue her
hobbies including needlework,
making pillows, placemats, and
tablecloths.
Mansour said her secret to a
long life is staying single and liv-
ing her most authentic, exciting
life.
Also celebrating her mile-
stone birthday was Dorothy
Rasmussen.
Rasmussen was born Dorothy
Law Aug. 7, 1921 in River Rouge.
She and her husband, Harold
Roy Rasmussen, were married
50 years and had nine children
together and she now has six
grandchildren.
Her husband was chief of the
Boilermakers Union, she
recalled and she was a govern-
ment worker.
Rasmussen now enjoys read-
ing, playing bingo and cards but
she has given up one of her
favorite hobbies, sewing. She
enjoyed sewing so much, she
said, that she made many of her
children's clothes.
Her secret to longevity? “I'm
just here is all I know!”
Elaine Galbraith was born
Elaine Anna Mathieu on July 10,
1921 in Duluth, Minnesota. She
married Robert Galbraith in
1949 and the couple had one son,
who lives locally with his wife,
Charlene.
Galbraith said that Charlene
is the best daughter-in-law she
could ever wish for and trusts
her with everything. Galbraith
has one grandchild and one
great-grandchild.
Galbraith previously taught
physical education and got her
Bachelor of Science degree from
the University of Illinois. She
said she and her family lived in
several states as her father was
often promoted and transferred,
including Illinois, Wyoming, New
York, Minnesota, and Missouri
before residing in Michigan.
A resident of Independence
Village for 10 years, Galbraith
said she loves living on her floor
and thinks the residents are
amazing.
Galbraith still loves all sports
and also enjoys reading. She said
she loves making people laugh
and her varied array of shirts