A Montreal woman has celebrated her 111th birthday. Here are her words of wisdom | 24CA News

Margaret Romans, who lives on the Château Pierrefonds seniors residence in Montreal’s West Island, is a part of an elite membership.

After all, not too many us can brag about being a supercentenarian.

Romans, who was born in Latvia in 1912 and moved to Montreal in 1947, celebrated her 111th birthday on Thursday surrounded by family and friends.

It’s one thing she says she was wanting ahead to and harassed how necessary that’s.

“There’s always something that you want to look forward to,” she mentioned.

Like any good occasion, there have been speeches, a poetry studying and plenty of reminiscing adopted by some cake.

Still very spry, Romans, with a little bit assist from her grand-niece Anne Lockwell, stood up and blew out the candles on her cake.

When requested to share her favorite reminiscence, Romans paused for a second to assume.

She spoke of her love of artwork and the way her travels to Italy had left a specific impression.

She defined how she felt an actual connection to the good artists by viewing their authentic art work.

“That went very much to my heart,” she mentioned.

When she settled in Montreal together with her husband Heinrich Romans, she started educating artwork on the YMCA, whereas Heinrich labored as an engineer.

Her ardour for educating and studying are nonetheless very a lot alive.

“I liked to teach and I’ve found that I don’t stress myself. I like to look at my students and they are so eager and I feel like I love them all,” she mentioned of her profession.

She additionally had some recommendation for the brand new era.

“I all the time say: ‘learn learn learn.”

She added it’s necessary to know your self.

“Learn what you like with your heart , then you will feel like you have a pleasure … and you don’t feel like you are working,” she mentioned.

Despite have lived extra lifetimes than most, Romans nonetheless has some issues she says she would have preferred to perform.

“I wanted to study philosophy,” she mentioned with a chuckle. “I would have liked two years to live in Greece to study all the history; that would have been very nice.”

Asked in regards to the secret to her longevity, Romans, mentioned she had no thought.

“It just happened,” she mentioned.

And whereas she might not have divulged find out how to dwell a protracted life, Romans did share phrases of knowledge on find out how to dwell life — a lifetime of kindness.

“I like to share that people love each other and be interested in the other person,” she mentioned.

“If you find some strangers arriving you would like to think that you are good to them and that you feel that they belong because they are very lonely.”

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