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The oldest person in the United States will soon celebrate his 116th birthday.
Edith “Edie” Lecagno Keenan Ceccarelli, who lives in the small town of Willits in Northern California, is the second-oldest person on the planet, according to gerontology research groups.
She celebrates another year around the Sun on February 5th. The town of Willits celebrates her birthday every year and will commemorate her 116th birthday with a parade on Sunday, February 4th.
Ceccarelli is a local treasure and celebrity, and her birthday parade is Willits’ party of the season, organizers and city officials told USA TODAY. Town officials such as the deputy mayor, city council members, fire department, and police department will participate in the parade by car. The Boy Scouts will also be celebrating along the route, along with several horses and locally known dog walkers. Willits residents and those coming to town for the parade can drive past Ceccarelli’s assisted living residence in cars decorated with balloons, flags, signs and banners.
“Every year on her birthday, we make sure she understands how special she is,” parade organizer Suzanne Pisetti told USA TODAY.
Perla Gonzalez, one of Ceccarelli’s caregivers at Willits Holy Spirit Residential Care Home, said Ceccarelli is probably most looking forward to the carrot cake his family ordered on Sunday.
“When she found out the cake was carrot cake, she was so excited,” Gonzalez said. “She said, ‘Really, honey?’ and her face lit up.”
Around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Ms. Ceccarelli plans to eat cake and strawberry ice cream (also her favorite), and then she’ll probably need a nap before the real festivities begin, said Ms. Gonzalez, 51. (years old) said.
In past years, Mr. Ceccarelli celebrated with a crowd at the Willits City building, eating birthday treats. Ceccarelli’s cousin, Evelyn Persico, told USA TODAY that starting in 2021, the annual celebration turned into a drive-by parade due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Pisetti, 62, said the car caravan is scheduled to start this Sunday at 1 p.m. and will likely last about an hour. The forecast predicts rain, so there may be fewer participants than in previous years. The organizer starts planning for the February event every December.
Family members, organizers and Holy Spirit staff say the parade will take place regardless of weather.
Picetti said that after Ceccarelli’s 100th birthday, he started inviting the whole town to come celebrate with him, and his friends wrote in the Willits News asking everyone to come.
“Her birthday has always been a community event and a public party since she was 100 years old,” Pisetti said. “It brings the community together to celebrate a truly special human being. It brings a lot of joy and happiness to our community.”
These days, Ceccarelli is no longer able to talk on the phone or have conversations like he used to, his family and caregivers said. However, she is still able to feed herself and she just moved into her assisted living community at 107 years old.
Ms. Persico, who is married to Mr. Ceccarelli’s second cousin, Lee Persico, said that throughout her life she was a hard worker and “a kind person.” After Ms. Persico retired from Willits Bank, she said she developed a special friendship with Mr. Ceccarelli.
“I feel like she was chosen by God to be on this earth for a long time,” Persico told USA TODAY, adding that Ceccarelli is beloved in the community, including local Mendocino County historians. added.
He said his family was lifelong Californians and always hard workers.
Mr. Ceccarelli was born in Willits in 1908 and had previously lived only in Northern California, calling Eureka, Ukiah and Santa Rosa home at various times in his life, his family said. According to her family, her parents immigrated to Willits from Italy in the early 1900s.
“It’s a real honor to have someone in the city with someone like her who was born and raised in Willits,” said Delores Pedersen, 52, a town clerk. She first met Ceccarelli about 20 years ago when she worked at City Hall and Ceccarelli would come by to pay his water bill.
Ceccarelli was the eldest of seven children and outlived all of them, Persico said. Persico said that as the children grew up, they all worked at odd jobs, sometimes digging potatoes in the valley, and brought money back to their parents.
“Back in the day, it was all work, work, work,” she said, explaining how Ms. Ceccarelli’s father built the house where she was born in the early 1900s. “Back then it was just manual labor. They walked everywhere, they didn’t have cars, they grew their own food. When you watch these old movies, you realize that’s what their lives were like. It was a thing.”
In his later years, Ceccarelli became known for his classy fashion sense, walking around town wearing hats, gloves, jewelry and flawless makeup until he was well over 100 years old, Pisetti said. Ta.
“She walked downtown every day wearing her best clothes, down to her jewelry and her purse,” she said.
Ceccarelli’s first husband was a typesetter for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, a newspaper still published today. Persico said Ceccarelli and her husband had a daughter and three granddaughters.
Growing up, Ceccarelli loved dancing, cooking, gardening, and walking.
“She lived a very happy and productive life,” Persico said.
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