If living long and well is a mark of success, Mafalda (Folly) Scagnetti Markle is successful. She celebrated her 105th birthday with family and friends last month.
Born April 1, 1918, Folly was the guest of honour at a party at Southwind Retirement Residence on April 23.
Guests were asked to make a donation to the Health Science North Foundation instead of bringing gifts. Almost $4,000 was raised.
Born in Garson, Folly was named after Princess Mafalda of Savoy, the second daughter of Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III.
She is the oldest of nine children. Only her youngest brother Ben Scagnetti, 91, is still living. He and brother, Ron, were co-founders of Mid-North Motors.
Her father, Benjamino, made a wise decision to leave his home in northeastern Italy in 1913 and was safely thousands of miles away in Canada during the First World War. He found work as a bricklayer.
After moving to Garson, he became a successful businessman and community leader. He was a town councillor for 12 years and was the first president of the Caruso Club.
As was typical for a girl at that time, Folly left school after Grade 8. She helped her mother, Cristina, with the other children, and worked in the family’s general store. She remembers working many weeknights until 9 p.m.
She learned about business and eventually ran her own grocery store on Melvin Street in the Donovan.
The Scagnetti store served the needs of the rugged pioneer mining town. Joseph Markle, a miner, was attracted to the pretty oldest daughter who worked behind the counter. The couple married and had two children, but later divorced.
Daughter Marilyn, a teacher, died in January 2009. Son Jerrold Jay (J-J), a successful real estate broker who lived in Hawaii, died in September 2010.
The matriarch of the Scagnetti family, Folly does not have any grandchildren, but she is close to her many nieces and nephews.
Folly defies aging stereotypes. She is in good health and lived in her own apartment and drove a car until she was in mid-90s. She now lives in a spacious light-filled apartment in Southwind Retirement Residences.
Photos of Folly taken over the years indicate she was always particular about her appearance. The petite woman is still always beautifully groomed and dressed.
“Folly loves to shop. She used to get her shoes from Harry Young’s in Toronto. They specialize in women’s shoes from AAAA to C widths. She has a very long and narrow foot. The store opened in 1918, but it closed a few years ago. They didn’t last as long as Aunt Folly,” her niece Benita Dellelce said.
"Folly and I walked from the Royal York in Toronto to the Eaton Centre in search of shoes when she was 90."
Her secret is joie de vivre. When she was younger, she liked to golf and curl, and she still loves to dance.
The senior was pictured on the cover of "Sudbury Living" magazine at the age of 100. The story's subhead was "100 is the new 75."
Statistics from 2022 indicate there are an amazing 13,485 Canadians 100 years old or older. Life expectancy for a Canadian woman was 60 in 1918. In 2022, it was 84. (Men's average life expectancy is 79.)
Another Sudbury woman celebrated her 105th birthday in April as well. Laura Belanger was born in 1918 in Biscotasing and now resides at Chartwell Westmount Retirement Residence.
Since her 100th birthday, Folly had a mild case of COVID-19 and battled skin cancer, which required 33 radiation treatments.
"She walked from the parking lot to the cancer treatment centre. She didn't need or want a wheelchair," Dellelce said.
When Folly turned 100, she received a letter of congratulations from Queen Elizabeth. At 105, the woman named for a princess is eligible to receive greetings from the new king.
Vicki Gilhula is a freelancer writer. Success is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
