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'I'm amazed I'm here'
By SUSAN THURSTON © St. Petersburg Times, published April 6, 2001 WEST MEADOWS -- Virginia Bowdoin never expected to live to 100. She struggled growing up as an orphan and later almost died in a car accident at age 53. She banked on faith and optimism to get her through. Today, Mrs. Bowdoin hits the century mark happy, healthy and surrounded by friends and loved ones. She plans to visit the beach and celebrate at parties. She might even dance. "I never thought I'd live to be this old," she said a few weeks before her big day. "I'm amazed I'm here." Mrs. Bowdoin lives with her daughter and son-in-law, Doris and Ray Hespel, at their new home in West Meadows. But she's quick to tell you it wasn't by choice. Her doctor made her do it. "I don't like the thought of losing everything I had and losing my freedom," said Mrs. Bowdoin, who lived on her own until last year. "I throw a rock every once in a while." Mrs. Bowdoin lives like a lot of senior citizens decades her junior. She enjoys gardening, writing letters to friends and making crafts at the local senior center. To stay fit, she rides an exercise bike, although, "I haven't been too faithful because I've been pretty busy." Her two-bedroom suite is decorated with mementos from her long, rich past. There's a proclamation from the Pope recognizing her and her late husband's 60th anniversary and photos of her family. Her cane is somewhere around the house, although her daughter can never find it. Turning one century old isn't too bad, says the gray-haired great-grandmother who likes earrings and necklaces. Her biggest complaints? Finding new friends and forgetting things. "It's a weird thing, old age," she said with a smile. "It's so sudden." Mrs. Bowdoin moved to New Tampa last year to be closer to family. Before that she lived by herself in Valrico and attended the Brandon Senior Center, where she still goes twice a week. She was born April 6, 1901, in Edmundston, New Brunswick. Her mother died of typhoid fever when Virginia was 7, and her father was not around. Virginia lived in a Catholic orphanage for three years, then moved to Massachusetts to help her aunt run a boarding house. Those were tough times, she remembers. She had to drop out of high school and often slept in the hallway because there was no bedroom for her. She married Hugh Bowdoin, a French Canadian, when she was 19. They moved to Detroit, and found jobs at fabric mills. They were married 74 years when he died in 1995 at age 95. She still wears her original wedding ring. Mrs. Bowdoin had four children: Doris; Donald of Valrico; Jim of Michigan; and Dorothy, who died in a car crash. The family moved to Milford, Mich., where they opened a country store near a small lake. She was involved in a near fatal car wreck in 1954. Doctors gave her a week to live, but miraculously she survived. She broke several bones and underwent plastic surgery to reconstruct her face. She was in traction for four weeks and, to this day, she still has trouble with her leg. "It's amazing she lived to be 100 years old," said her daughter, Doris, who is 69. Mrs. Bowdoin has 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren who live in Florida and around the country. Many are traveling to New Tampa to attend her centennial celebration party Saturday at her grandson's home in Hunter's Green. A disc jockey will spin tunes at the catered affair. Festivities continue Sunday with a mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Seffner, followed by a party with her friends in Valrico. Then it's back to making crafts, tending to her plants and starting a second century of memories. "I'm just learning about orchids," she said. - Susan Thurston can be reached at (813) 226-3463 or thurston@sptimes.com.
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