Longtime Howell Senior Center Member Celebrates 107th Birthday

HOWELL, NJ - A longtime Howell Senior Center member and New Jersey centenarian recently celebrated her 107th birthday with a surprise home visit from senior center staff.

Rose Perrotta moved to New Jersey with her daughter and son-in-law over 25 years ago from Staten Island. Although Perrotta, a social butterfly, had to say goodbye to scores of friends at the Staten Island senior center she frequented, daughter Pat Lange recalls that the centenarian quickly joined social circles at the Howell Senior Center nearly 30 years ago:

“I remember we dropped her off on the first day: she made tons of friends, she really got involved with everything. The people and the services offered there were wonderful,” Lange told Patch. “It just turned out to be one of the best things that’s really happened in our life.”

“Rose was involved in everything when she joined as a young 79-year-old,” Howell Senior Services Director Melanie Decker told Patch. “She would attend all the parties, dances, lunches, go on trips, played bingo, exercised, did crafts, ceramics and socialized. Whatever was offered, she took part in. She has so many friends here including the staff and is clearly the biggest celebrity we have.”

But as Perrotta began to approach her 100th birthday, the bus ride to the senior center became more difficult to manage. Naturally, her daughter came to the rescue and offered her rides to and from the community center - oftentimes picking up Perrotta after bingo games a walker loaded full of prizes.

"She would sometimes would get so excited and tell us and her daughter, “I was the big winner today, I won the big prize," Decker said. "Pat would joke with her and say, 'Ma! You woke up today, that’s the big prize!' Rose would crack up laughing at this."

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the center has been shattered for safety restrictions; as of late, small groups of seniors will be able to gather by home location soon, according to a municipal alert. As of Thursday afternoon, an official return date has not been announced yet. Although Perrotta couldn't celebrate her 107th birthday at the senior center with friends, staff from the senior center visited her at home to wish her well on her special day.

“She looked fabulous as always and was ecstatic for the visit,” Howell Township later wrote in a Facebook post. “We told Rose that if she makes it to 108 we will rename the Howell Senior Center after her and she laughed at that one!”

Lange expressed that, while Perrotta has enjoyed countless family meals during the pandemic, she is excited to return to the Howell Senior Center, socialize with friends and enjoy outdoor weather on the new center's patio.

And while Perrotta has voiced her excitement to eventually return to the center, Lange reports that her mother has enjoyed the time spent with her family during lockdown and continues to follow politics.

“The family has been together throughout the pandemic, so she gets to see the family,” Lange said. “She still watches FOX News. She’s a big fan, she’s very political and very involved in that. She’s still able to walk, we have all our meals together and she still has a lot to offer. I think that’s really been the secret to her longevity: not only the fact that she has really good genes, but she’s surrounded by a family that really does love her. That keeps the mind and the spirit engaged.”