100-Year-Old Nebraska Woman Shares Secret to Long Life at Surprise Birthday Party: 'I'm Not Afraid to Try New Things'

Mar. 15, 2025

A Nebraska woman is sharing her secret to living a long life.

The surprise festivities kicked off at Ridgewood Senior Living in Bennington, Neb., where her family played a slideshow of her life, allowing her to relive her most significant moments.

Some of the big moments in Fitzwater’s life include working at the Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant, an aircraft manufacturing facility, at 18 duringWorld War II, owning a Sears store and delivering Meals on Wheels, where she met her husband.

“He would not let us get engaged or married until he came home from the war, so we had to wait and that was the longest wait I’d ever spent in my life,” Fitzwater said of her husband. The couple went on to have three children.

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Birthday cake with candles stock image.Getty

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“To be open and to be positive, to be accepting about your life and to be happy about what your life is,” Phillip echoed his mother’s sentiments.

“My motto in life is: ‘I tried,’ " Fitzwater said, laughing. “I just want to try new things and I’m not afraid to try new things, so I just do ‘em.”

“My health has been good, my memory’s so-so — it’s not bad,” she said. “And I count my many blessings every day.”

source: people.com