Priscilla Morneau Turns 100

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by Allan Appel | Dec 20, 2011 12:10 pm

(4) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Fair Haven

Allan Appel Photo The mayor hailed her. So did U.S Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Gov. Dannel Malloy, Willard Scott—even the pope. But the best congrats came from five children, 13 grandkids, 21 great-grandkids, and one great-great-grandchild.

Three dozen family members and friends Monday offered those congrats. They gathered at the Mary Wade Home to eat cake, read official proclamations, and celebrate the 100th birthday of Priscilla Morneau.

No superstitious family this one. In July no fewer than 81 members of the family also gathered at Mary Wade precisely because many of them are far flung and could not gather during the pre-Christmas week to mark Morneau’s precise birthday, which is Dec 19.

Besides the familial love, Morneau received many official plaudits. At Monday’s celebration, Father Mark Jette at the St. Lawrence Church in West Haven read aloud an official proclamation from Pope Benedict XVI, who blessed her on her birthday. Morneau’s nephew, an Augustinian priest, secured the special Papal benediction. DeStefano, Malloy, DeLauro sent letters. And weatherman Willard Scott wished her a happy birthday on live TV.

The family in July created a fund that allows Mary Wade to hire a crochet instructor to come in to the award-winning Fair Haven nursing facility and work with residents to hone their skills.

Crocheting is one of the passions of Morneau, who entered Mary Wade a year ago this Saturday after living alone in West Haven for 12 years after her husband died.

In an interview in her homey second-floor room before making her grand entrance to the party space amid flashes, balloons, and applause, Morneau said that crocheting keeps her hands nimble and her mind occupied.

She said she also does crossword puzzles, “but only the easy ones.”

Morneau is a whiz at cribbage and solitaire, according to several family members interviewed. Her great-great-grandchild, 5-year-old Brendan Casey, plays cribbage with her. His mother Michele, who helped to organize the party, confessed that her son realizes he is still very much a rookie compared to great great grandma.

Morneau was asked the obligatory centenarian question: What’s the secret to her longevity? Morneau replied simply, “I’m just happy.”

Daughter Donna Renkewitz, who presided over the festivities, also confirmed a serene disposition as well as a sense of humor and proportion. Before moving to Mary Wade, Morneau lived for 18 years in John Prete Senior Housing in West Haven. There, she never let all the quotidian difficulties and gossip bother her, according to her daughter.

Morneau was born in Van Buren, Maine. She began a long residence in Connecticut in 1952. Her son Henry, the family genealogist, has traced her name before marriage, Comeau, to one of the earliest French settlers in Nova Scotia in the beginning of the 17th century.

When Morneau moved to Mary Wade last year, son Normand became her nearest-residing child. A 32-year resident of Downing Street, he and his wife Fran are community activists and among other pursuits, helped revive Chatham Square Park. Normand Morneau said his mom is not obsessed with her French-Canadian heritage, only proud enough to have reminded him many times during his childhood that he must spell his name with the “d.”

Fran Morneau said her mother-in-law told her, “After 100 everything gets erased and you start all over.”

Even with more than 70,000 centenarians nationwide, turning 100 is still a pretty special club. According to Mary Wade’s Joy DeMarchis, Priscilla Morneau is the only 100-year old among the 45 residents in the assisted living side of the facility; there are others in the skilled nursing part of the home, for which there is a waiting list.

DeMarchis said of the Mary Wade approach to elder care, “We consider ourselves parts of the family.”

Morneau said the best aspect of life at Mary Wade was “friendship” in all its aspects. Her only complaint: There is no one among the residents who can challenge her cribbage creds.

DeMarchis suggested she just might work on that too.

Comments

posted by: Audrey Karhut Neal on December 20, 2011 5:33pm

Mrs Morneau: Best belated Wishes on your 100th birthday.
Lorraine just sent me the URL.
Audrey

posted by: Janice Comeau-Patrizz on December 21, 2011 5:17pm

This is a wonderful story
about a wonderful woman~~
~~~~~my Aunt~~~~~~:)

posted by: Claire and Tom Moran on December 21, 2011 7:48pm

Aunt Priscilla, best wishes to a truly great lady on her 100th birthday and best of health to you. Tom and Claire

posted by: Maryanne & Bob McAllister on December 22, 2011 3:48pm

Congratulations on your 100th birthday, Mrs. Morneau. We had the privilege of meeting you and having lunch with you, Henry, and Virginia in New Haven a few years ago. You look just as lovely now as you did then. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
God bless you,
Maryanne & Bob McAllister

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