It’s a milestone many of us may only dream about reaching — 100 years of age.
For local resident Palma Tesser, that’s soooo 2015.
Ms. Tesser celebrated her 107th birthday Wednesday at the Osceola Council on Aging, surrounded by her loved ones and friends at the agency.
Tessier has three children, nine grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and seven great, great-grandchildren — and many of them were in attendance Wednesday. All of those were very emotional about the milestone Palma has reached.
“We are all just so thankful she is still here,” said daughter-in-law Doris Tesser said.
Palma made it clear during the part that her secret to longevity is having fun and people around her — and that’s exactly the attitude that Palma displayed on her birthday. She was a social butterfly, moving from person to person, thanking everyone for attending and joining in on the fun.
“I’m just very happy and very thankful,” Palma said after celebrating with her partygoers enjoying food, dancing, singing and — of course, a slice of decadent birthday cake.
“What a beautiful turn out for Palma,” Wilda Belisle, Osceola Council on Aging’s Senior Vice President of Nutrition, and a friend to all who come to the Council, said. “As we were taking count on those who came it is funny that we have 107 people in attendance.
“She can walk, she can run, she plays Bingo and she loves it and she’s the first one to get back there to get her prize when she wins. So, she makes us all laugh and smile every time we see her. She energizes a lot of people here. She’s more than just a client, she’s really the heart and soul of this place.”
Like many say: it’s not years old, it’s years young, and that age is just a number. Everyone looks forward to celebrating Palma’s 108th birthday next year and seeing the same energy and spunk she had this year.
