Las Vegas assisted living facility pays tribute to its oldest residents: 101-year-old friends

Catherine LaScala and Lilly Fletcher share ingratiating smiles and numbers on a birthday cake. Each woman will soon be celebrating her 102nd birthday. LaScala’s birthday is in December, and Fletcher’s is in March.

A party was held for them on Sept. 23. The invitees are residents of The Bridge at Paradise Valley, an assisted living community at 2205 E. Harmon Ave., where both women have apartments. The occasion was Active Aging Week and National Centenarian’s Day, the opportunity to honor “centenarians,” individuals who have celebrated at least 100 birthdays.

Staff member Ashley Sturm pointed out that 100 birthdays mean a wonderful life of 36,500 days, 5,200 weeks, 36,500 sunrises and sunsets, and 1,200 full moons.

Balloons decorated the activities room, and lemonade and a cupcake cake were served. Songs were provided by local entertainer Brenda Hebert, dressed as a flapper. With her fringe flying, Hebert asked the audience to join her in songs from Broadway and the Great American Songbook.

LaScala and Fletcher have become friends at The Bridge. They sit together at meals, and at the centenarian celebration, LaScala looked after Fletcher even to the point of reminding the servers that Fletcher should not have too much sugar. Fletcher was given a cupcake without icing, though some guests also heard her ask about a glass of wine.

Both women were in the work force at a time when that wasn’t as common as it is today. For 25 years, LaScala worked in New York’s Rockefeller Center as an executive secretary at National Bulk Carriers, a shipping and transportation company. She recalls that during World War II, her company transported food to countries overseas.

While LaScala was working on the East Coast, Fletcher — a native of New Mexico — was on the West Coast, employed by a number of companies involved in government work. At one point, she worked in a China Lake, Calif., factory producing bomb components.

When she moved to Las Vegas, she helped make parachutes at Nellis Air Force Base.

LaScala was married once — she proudly adds that her husband was 10 years younger than her — and Fletcher was married twice. Both are now widows but have fond memories of marriage. Neither had children, and both have lived at The Bridge for several years, even through the facility’s current renovation.

Both women have close relatives who visit regularly. LaScala has a niece, Linda Costa, who helps with shopping and is a regular visitor. Fletcher’s youngest sister, Bette Jo Peisker, is also a frequent visitor. Fletcher said, without explanation, “My sister is different from me, but I love her.”

How old is a centenarian’s youngest sister? Age 81.

From a health standpoint, LaScala said she has never taken any particular steps to live a long life, other than doing a great deal of walking while living in New York. These days, she travels by wheelchair due to a fall, but otherwise, she reads without glasses (reading is a favorite pastime), requires no hearing aids, and her teeth are all her own.

Fletcher, also now a wheelchair traveler, said her eyesight is failing, and she particularly misses reading and doing crossword puzzles. She can still watch TV — she said she likes Channel 8 and the news — but her hearing isn’t the best, and she said she doesn’t like the TV programs where people “whisper.”

And her teeth? She thanks a local dentist for “fixing them” not long ago.

Centenarians aren’t as rare as they were years ago, but both women are shocked they’ve lived as long as they have. Caregivers at The Bridge also say attitude may be a key to their longevity: They seldom see the pair without big smiles on their faces.