Are long-lived hopes of each person. Especially if long-lived and have good health, who did not want to?
Astrid Thoenig, a woman from New Jersey, the birthday of the 100 on September 24. In the age of 'very mature' it, Thoenig still working at his family firm, Thornton Insurance. Thus was launched the AFP, friday (9/25/2009).
"I do not feel old, and I do not think about the old," said Thoenig born in 1909 in Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA.
Thoenig appearance was also looked interesting. He wore an elegant dress with gold accents. Not only that, colored glasses and blond hair made him look younger than her age.
During the last 30 years, women who had been married 2 times this works with his son, John Thornton. His job is to answer the phone, making the financial records, manage payments, up to typing documents.
Thoenig have experienced memory loss when she was 9 years old. At that time, father and sister died of a flu epidemic. "I remember falling down from my bedroom and saw two coffins in the living room: one white, for my sister, and the other for the grown person," she said, recalling how the flu pandemic of 1918 killed her father and her 10-year-old sister within hours of one another. "To see my father and sister — of all the things I can't remember — that's very vivid in my mind."
Thoenig, her remaining sister, and her mother also were infected but survived. Her mother lived until 101 and her sister, who suffered permanent hearing loss from the illness, was 95 when she died. A few years ago, scientists tracked Thoenig down and took blood samples from her as one of the few remaining survivors of the pandemic of 1918-1919 that killed an estimated 30 million to 50 million people worldwide, including thousands in New Jersey.
Her current job is her favorite — working alongside her son, John Thornton, and grandson Peter at the family-owned insurance company.
"I'm 67, and one of our jokes is: 'How can I retire before my mother does?'" John Thornton said. He says his mother is a meticulous worker, reviewing contracts, preparing the payroll, making sure bills are paid, and is always pleasant company.
Thoenig credits her son for giving her the job, taking her to work — although she still drove until age 98 when a botched hip operation made it difficult to get around — and always being patient.
The growing stack of birthday cards may have identical motifs, but the messages inside them each touched her in their own way. Some, sent by people she's never met, were from seniors who continue to work and are inspired by her example: "I'm at my job 37 years and still love it," someone wrote.
She took special delight in a bouquet from her dentist with the message: "This is only the beginning!"
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