102 reasons to celebrate

Laurina Lacroix, pictured with her daughter Madelyn Carpenter, celebrated her 102nd birthday at St. Joseph's Villa with family and friends.

She was born August 28, 1907 in St. Marie de Blanford, Quebec, and came from a family of five brothers and two sisters.

She married Amedee Lacroix when she was 18. Amedee, who fought in the First World War, passed away from cancer in 1948.

Earlier in life, Laurina ran a taxi service in Timmins, later selling it to buy a building and renting out the rooms. She also worked at St. Mary's hospital in Timmins as a pastry chef for 17 years.

She retired and moved to Sudbury in 1981. She used to love to garden, cook, knit and crochet. She was good at playing cards, and cheating once in a while, says her daughter Madelyn.

St. Joseph's Villa became her home five years ago. She is still in good health, says her family.

Longevity runs in the family. Her uncle lived to be 105 and her brother and sister lived to be 101.

She attributes her old age to taking care of herself, her skin, resting, doing jobs around the house, being bossy and having a good sense of humour. She has one daughter, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.