Family, friends help centenarian celebrate birthday
<p>After her birthday on March 21, Irene Wolff became Hearthstone Village’s first 100-year-old resident. (Photo courtesy HEARTHSTONE VILLAGE)</p>
KOOTENAI — Irene Wolff has done a lot of living in her time.
On March 21, the Hearthstone Village resident turned 100 years old, becoming the assisted living facility’s first centenarian. About half her family, who are mostly based out of the Seattle area, managed to turn out for the occasion. The family celebrated her long life with a party at Hearthstone Village Thursday night, complete with food, cake and a lot of presents.
“This is quite a gathering,” Wolff said. “We’ve got little ones, big ones and medium-sized ones here.”
Sure enough, five generations were represented in the family get-together. About a dozen children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren joined the matriarch for her big birthday. Even so, only about half the family made it out for the occasion.
Then again, that’s understandable considering the circus involved in coordinating dozens of relatives for hours upon hours of driving. With the party falling on a Thursday evening, the family had to twist work schedules, college classes, high school, Girl Scouts and numerous other obligations to make the trip. Because of those busy schedules, they couldn’t stay around any longer than Friday morning, but they always enjoy making the trip.
“She’s basically our only reason to come out here these days,” granddaughter Kathlene Vegors said.
Wolff has been a Bonner County resident ever since 1977, when she and her husband Charles Bowey moved to the area and built a home near Garfield Bay. After her husband died in 1988, Wolff continued living in her home until moving to Hearthstone Village in 2007.
Before her time in Idaho, Irene obtained plenty of experience running businesses like a laundry service and ice delivery with her husband. She drove a truck, a city bus and hauled ice from Walla Walla, Wash., to Hermiston, Ore.
At age 100, Wolff maintains the same enthusiasm for life that she did during her younger years. She takes place in most of the activities Hearthstone Village provides and takes particular joy in bingo, her favorite game.
And while her memory may not be as good as it used to be, her sense of humor is still very much intact.
“I used to be baby?” she told one facility staff member who complimented her baby pictures. “I can’t remember that far back.”