Lucie
Cassista, 102, is shown as she crochets a blanket for one of her younger
relatives. PHOTO: MADELEINE LECLERC/THE VICTORIA STAR
Lucie
Cassista, who recently celebrated her 102nd birthday, is living proof that age
is no barrier to enjoying every day to its fullest.
Cassista lives at the Mont Assomption
senior living facility in the St. André Rural Community.
“Life is beautiful. In 102 years, you see
beautiful things. I am followed by five generations,”Cassista said.
A week after her birthday, Cassista was
scratching lottery tickets she received during the celebration. She said that
if she won a jackpot, it would be divided among her children and her niece
Linda Pelletier, who accompanies her on shopping trips. Cassista only uses her
walker outside her room as a backup.
“I had four brothers and two sisters. I
am the only one left from my immediate family. I lost my only living sister
five years ago. She was 91 years old. My brothers all died young. One died at
the age 80 while the others were in their 70s. I had nine children. I lost a
son who drowned when he was four. That was hard to get over. I lost another son
four years ago to lung cancer. I have three sons and four girls left. Only two
of my daughters could not be here to celebrate my birthday with me. One lives
in Toronto and stayed there to celebrate her daughter’s birthday and the other
is taking treatments,”Cassista said.
“I got married Dec. 26, 1939. My husband,
Eddy Cassista, passed away 28 years ago. He worked hard too as a house mover.
This was a big job. People do not have the health we had. We worked hard,”she
said.
Cassista is living proof that one is only
as old as one feels inside. She clearly remembers events that occurred when she
was three years old.
“I had gone to where my father was clearing land to get the ground ready for planting. I clearly remember falling and coming close to being trampled by the horses. I remember my father bringing me back home and telling my mother that I could not go outside alone,”she said.
“My father was not happy, but he never
hit me. I raised my children without hitting them,”stated Cassista.
She said that she knows of no recipe for
longevity. Even today, Cassista rises from her bed between 5 and 5:30 a.m.
After breakfast and having dressed, she knits and keeps busy rather than sit
all day doing nothing.
“Working and being among people is
living. We are not alone. I worked like a man. I had a big accident and I
returned to work after. I was “tough” at work. I finished the trim around the
windows of my house and people thought it was a worker who had the job.Women
are also capable. I knew how to manage. I was a cook in work camps. It’s not
easy raising children. After my children were married, I worked for
McCain’s,”she said.
Although she appreciates the
technological advances that help to facilitate and shorten tasks such as
washing machines and electric sewing machines, she is not attached to a
television. As is the case with a radio, she turns on the television more for
the background noise while she works.
She said that she had a cousin on her
mother’s side who lived up to 107 years. She treasures newspaper clippings of
the event. Her dearest moments from her childhood are when she and her siblings
built snow huts.
“She continues to be very active with
weekly outings. She knits blankets to keep busy. On Wednesdays, she reminds the
other residents that it’s Bingo day. She also loves to play interactive games
with the Wii. She plays bowling and wins all the games. A year ago, she decided
that there was no more time in her schedule for her daily walk so she stopped.
That was until her doctor prescribed a daily walk. Now, nothing stops her,”said
Cassista’s daughter-in-law Cécile Cassista, who lives in Riverview.
