Palma Tessler was born on Aug. 23, 1915, in Boston. A gathering of over 50 people, including Kissimmee Mayor Olga Gonzalez, helped her celebrate her 109th birthday Friday at the Osceola Council on Aging’s vBarney E. Veal Center,.
After the group sang “Happy Birthday,” Mayor Gonzalez presented a certificate of appreciation to Ms. Tessler, on behalf of the City of Kissimmee Commissioners. Juan Lopez, representing Congressman Darren Soto, was also on hand and provided remarks. A letter of congratulations and happy birthday wishes from Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis was read by Jim Moody, a senior vice president at the Council on Aging, and then a video message from Secretary Michelle Branham of Florida’s Department of Elder Affairs was played for Palma. Finally, a rolling PowerPoint presentation of Palma’s 100th birthday celebration was played while gifts were presented. While alert and smiling at the festivities in her honor, she was not able to speak to the gathering.
In the year Palma Tessler was born, 1915, baseball legend and home run king Babe Ruth hit his very first home run, playing for the Boston Red Ss in a game against the New York Yankees. World War One had started in Europe a year earlier in 1914, but it would be two more years before American “doughboys” went “Over There” to France to help end that war. During her long life, she lived through two World Wars, the growth of aviation, the eradication of some diseases, such as smallpox, which had ravaged humankind for millennia, atomic energy and weapons, and now space travel and the internet.
Happy birthday to Ms. Palma Tessler!
