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Camden Courier-Post
February 15. 2007At 108, a Birthday to Remember
By RENEE WINKLER
Courier-Post Staff
CHERRY HILLA Valentine's Day celebration Wednesday at the Cherry Hill Convalescent Center combined music, cake, ice cream and special recognition for the 108th birthday of former Camden resident Gloria Rodriguez.
While about half of the center's 90 residents wearing varying shades of red and pink gathered in the community room, entertainer Marc Shaw of Marlton sang old favorites from the 1950s and 1960s and cajoled some of the audience to clap along to the chicken dance.
Rodriguez sat quietly with some family members, including her granddaughter, great-granddaughter, and 7-year-old great-great-grandson Joel Crespo, who had brought along cake and ice cream to share, along with the woman's favorite snacks -- Oreo cookies and bite-size pieces of candy.
Rodriguez, who was born in Puerto Rico, moved to the United States when she was about 20 years old, first settling in the Bronx, N.Y., said her granddaughter, Luz Lopez.
Lopez's parents moved to Camden about 30 years ago, bringing Rodriguez with them to a home in the 100 block of State Street. She later moved to the 600 block of Grant Street.
"She was independent all her life, and until 2001 my mother would check on her. But my mother died," Lopez said, and other family members weren't always reliable.
She said her grandmother, who as a younger woman had earned a living by sewing in her home, refused to live with younger members of her family.
"If they brought her home with them, she'd leave. She'd just call a cab and go home," Lopez said.
In 2002, Rodriguez was placed in an Ocean County rehabilitation center and was transferred to Cherry Hill several months ago.
Her great-granddaughter, Cruz Crespo, said family members took Rodriguez to Cooper University Hospital when she turned 100 years old.
"They had no record of her. We don't think she had ever been hospitalized," Crespo said.
Shaw, the entertainer, presented Rodriguez with a battery-operated candle and a twinkling ring.
"I'll be back when you're 110," he said.
On Saturday, another resident at Cherry Hill Convalescent Center, Elsie Reed, turns 100 years old.
Reach Renee Winkler at (856) 486-2455 or rwinkler@courierpostonline.com
Published: February 15. 2007 3:10AM
