Colonial Courtyard at Bedford senior celebrates 103rd birthday

BEDFORD, Pa. - April 16, 2015 - PRLog -- Verna Malony reminds her fellow residents and the staff at Colonial Courtyard at Bedford that she was born “just five days before the Titanic sank.”

    Malony’s voyage has lasted 103 years – and counting. She celebrated her 103^rd birthday on April 10 with the staff at the senior living community located on 220 Donahue Manor Road in Bedford. Verna is the oldest resident at Colonial Courtyard at Bedford, where she’s resided for nearly two years.

     “It’s not every day that someone gets to celebrate 103 years young,” said Nanette Bankes, Activities Coordinator at Colonial Courtyard at Bedford. “Verna enjoyed a special meal complete with a birthday cake made by our dietary department, a big bouquet of balloons and a card signed by residents and the team at Colonial Courtyard at Bedford.”

    “Verna had a few tears and good words of wisdom for all,” Bankes said. “She even managed to blow out her candles with 103 wishes.”

     Malony was born in Cumberland, Maryland, on April 10, 1912. She was part of the workforce for approximately 50 years, holding positions as a secretary as well as jobs in banking, pharmaceuticals, industry and Bible study. She had an ownership stake in a machine shop.

    “Verna can remember going to visit family in Altoona when drivers didn’t have the advantage of using Google Maps or GPS,” Bankes said. “They packed their suit cases, strapped them to the side of the car and took off in a general direction. She said if it rained, there were side curtains to put on the windows to keep you from getting soaked.”

   Malony and her late husband Tom married on Valentine’s Day in 1958 and were together until his death in 2005. The couple moved to Bedford in 1988, and Verna became a resident at Colonial Courtyard at Bedford in 2013.