Barstow resident Wilma Ford celebrates 100

BARSTOW • Last Sunday wasn’t just any day. Officially in Barstow, it was “Wilma Ford Day” in honor of resident Wilma Ford who turned 100 years old.

A day earlier, the centenarian received a city proclamation from Mayor Joe Gomez while 135 guests representing five generations looked on during a lively birthday celebration at Rosita’s Restaurant.

“There are friends here she’s known for over 70 years,” said granddaughter Teresa Acquitola, from Albuquerque, N.M. Other family members, who know her fondly as “Mimi,” came from Texas, her home state of Illinois and other locations.

Gomez wasn’t the only dignitary to pay respects to Ford. A number of city, state and national leaders wrote letters in honor of her birthday. She received congratulatory letters from Gov. Jerry Brown, President George W. Bush, President George H.W. Bush and numerous mayors of cities she has lived in through the years.

The running theme with party guests was that Ford, who greeted guests from a wheelchair as the result of a hip injury, hasn’t changed all that much through the years.

“She’s so alert,” said bridge partner Pat Glesson. “She keeps score.”

Others from Ford’s bridge club came to celebrate, as did former co-workers who remembered her as a conscientious, yet feisty San Bernardino City Library circulation manager.

“She was always very friendly,” said Mary Mann. “She was helpful with the public.”

But Ford, who first started working at the library in the early 1950s and retired in 1976, could be tough with her staff when necessary.

“She gave compliments to her staff, but then she’d lower the boom,” said Dorothy Rucarean. “We became real good friends in and out of the library.”

Another former co-worker remembered one day in particular that demonstrated Ford’s devotion to her work.

“Wilma was very precise,” the woman said. “You get an hour an lunch. But one day she didn’t come back.”

It turned out, Ford had been injured in a car accident and taken to the hospital.

“She had a broken pelvis, but she still wanted to come back. To you, Wilma, we give our respect.”

For someone who just turned 100, her age isn’t readily apparent to all.

“It’s funny,” Ford said a few days earlier. “I am in pretty good health, but I can’t walk. The muscles in my legs just don’t allow me to walk, but I’m in good health. From my hips up I’m strong.”

And, she added, “For some reason or other I don’t have any wrinkles. I didn’t care for smoking, and I don’t drink.”

Ford still has her driver’s license, but her car was recently stolen and found stripped near a river bed.

Farming community

Ford was born on Jan. 29, 1912 in a farming community in central Illinois. When she was 6, her father died, and her mother moved the family to Cerro Gordo, Ill.

“Everybody knows everybody,” she said. “There’s no rich, rich, rich, and there’s no poor, poor, poor.”

In 1937, after she was married and had three daughters, she and her family moved to San Diego. She still remembers the scenic week-long trip from Illinois through Missouri, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

“I’d never seen mountains before. I’d never seen canyons.”

Her family eventually moved to San Bernardino, where her husband bought a tool distribution company in 1952. He died the following decade.

In 1998, Ford moved to Barstow where she became active in numerous groups and organizations. She especially enjoys playing bridge with her friends.

“I’ve been doing it my entire adult life,” she said. “I really enjoy playing bridge.”

Two of Ford’s three daughters were in attendance at the party: Nancy Peace, of Las Vegas, and Marilyn Van Norman, who lives in Barstow. Her youngest daughter, Alma Graetz, who lives in Grants Pass, Ore., couldn’t attend due to illness.

The Golden Rule

Ford says the key to living a long life is taking things in stride and being kind to others.
“I don’t go overboard with anything. I don’t worry. I like people. If everyone lived by the Golden Rule they’d be better off. I’ve believed that all my life. That has always meant something to me. It goes for the good times and the bad times.”

But it’s not only Ford’s words of wisdom that have inspired so many friends and family members. It’s her enthusiasm as she continues to live her life to its fullest.

“I hope if I ever live as long as she has, I hope I’m as alert as she is,” said niece Katie Helm from Ford’s former hometown, Cerro Gordo, Ill.

“I can’t believe she’s 100,” one grandson said. “I”m half that age, and I still can’t get around very well.”