ST. PAUL - A local Sunnyside Manor resident credits friendship and good health as one of her secrets to a long and healthy life. On Feb. 27, Eva St. Jean turned 102 years old.
St. Jean isn’t just an ordinary resident, she is one of three occupants over the age of 100 at the retirement home still at the independent living level. As she sat with some of her closest friends and family at the head table set up especially for her on her birthday, St. Jean was constantly touted by fellow residents of the home who came up to wish her a happy and healthy birthday.
Born during the First World War and married by the Second World War, St. Jean is the oldest among her group of friends and says, “friendship means everything” to her. Despite being legally blind, St. Jean still continues to play cards, bingos and has ‘vino’ (wine) parties.
“I just feel a day older than yesterday, I feel fine, healthy and I thank God for that,” St. Jean said. “I was just blessed with good health.”
Following the death of her first-husband, St. Jean was a bride once again at the age of 71. Her groom was the father of her foster child’s husband.
“I was alone for nine years and the evenings were very lonely,” she said. “He was company, we were together for nine years.”
St. Jean adorned a royal blue dress at her second wedding, which was held at the St. Paul Cathedral.
“I had a very good life with him,” she said.
At the age of 88, St. Jean moved to Sunnyside Manor. “You couldn’t ask for any better, moving to Sunnyside was like moving in with a new family, it’s very nice,” she said.
Originally from Quebec, St. Jean moved to St. Paul at the age of 11, where she lived on a farm and raised five children. For a quarter of her life, St. Jean taught school and worked with the severely handicapped.
St. Jean has 16 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren, and nine great-great-grandchildren.
Lorraine Joly, 95, has known St. Jean for several years or “forever,” according to Joly.
“She’s always been around and it’s her sense of humour and her friendship that I value the most about our relationship,” Joly said. “When I came here (to Sunnyside) five years ago, she was the one who took me in, and made me feel at home.”
When speaking last week at the birthday party, Joly thanked St. Jean for her friendship.
“You’ve been active all these years, have kept your sense of humour, and in spite of being legally blind, you still play a lot of cards, bingos, and entertain us with your stories about your children, your experiences and your life,” Joly told the residents gathered together. “And, we’re very grateful for that and thank you for being my friend for all these years.”
“She’s a doll, she shoots straight from the hips and tells it like it is and has a great outlook on life,” according to Sunnyside manager Kerry Trottier. “One of the things she says to me is ‘you’re going to have bad days, things are going to go bad, but you’ll have to wait for tomorrow to see if it’s a better day.’”
