She’s 107 years young

By Jon Moffett

The Youngstown resident came to the U.S. from Italy at age 4.

YOUNGSTOWN — In 1902, the American Automobile Association was formed, the Carnegie Institution of Washington was founded, the first Rose Bowl game was played, and Anna DiGregorio was born.

Anna celebrated her 107th birthday Friday in front of about 30 fellow residents of the Windsor House at Omni Manor Health Care and Rehabilitation Center. Residents sang “Happy Birthday” and applauded the guest of honor, who sat at the head of the table with her two sons and granddaughter.

“I feel all right,” Anna said, as she passed up on a slice of cake for a glass of red wine.

Though she may be hard of hearing and a little soft-spoken, Anna doesn’t let her age slow her down.

“She’s pretty active,” said Julie Villano, activities director of Omni Manor. “For 107, I’d say she’s very active. She does bowling with us, she plays bingo three times a week, she goes on facility trips with us ... To be as old as she is and to have the quality of life that she has, and to still have all the people she loves around her is just fantastic.”

Anna was born in Italy and moved to the United States when she was 4. During a time when giving birth was more hazardous, Anna lost four siblings. She had six surviving siblings, four brothers and two sisters, said her son Arthur, 80. Anna spent much of her life as a homemaker and loved to cook.

Living a full and healthy life runs in the family, her son Ed, 82, said. Anna’s mother lived to be 103.

Ed added that Anna was independent until about age 104, when she fell in a grocery store. Shortly after, she moved from her apartment to Omni Manor.

“She’s a real individual, always has been,” he said of his mother. “She’s tough.”

At Anna’s celebration were Ed and Arthur, as well as her granddaughter Michele DiGregorio-Jones, who shares the Jan. 16 birthday with her grandmother. Anna has three children, 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter.

Villano said the center generally has a group birthday party for residents having a birthday that month, but made an exception for Anna’s special day.

“She just is one of those people that makes us all happy, and she’s an inspiration, I feel, to all of us,” she said. “Her turning 107 is just a really big deal, and we wanted to celebrate it with her.”

Villano added that one of the reasons Anna is so inspirational is because of how active she is.

“You see people in their 50s, and they’re incapacitated,” she said. “She can still walk and comes [to the activities room] every day, and to be able to get up and to be the way she is, to me, is just amazing.”

Michele, who reported her age as “younger than 107,” called her grandmother “a wonder.”

Anna has some time before she catches up with the current oldest-living person in the world, Gertrude Baines. Baines, a resident of Los Angeles, is 114, according to USnews.com.

jmoffett@vindy.com