Parties Abound for Farmington Hills Centenarian

On Wednesday afternoon, Edna Black gathered with yet another group of her many friends to celebrate her 100th birthday.

After events with family, her Sunday school class and the Nardineers seniors group that meets at , she enjoyed birthday cake Wednesday at the Senex respite care program.

"I'm partied out," Black said after singing along with such classic tunes as "The Band Played On" and "My Wild Irish Rose," played by Rose Paulus on the piano.

Born Sept. 22, 1911, Black grew up just four blocks from the Belle Isle Bridge in Detroit. "I had a wonderful childhood," she said.

She and her husband, Robert, raised three daughters in the city: Barbara Connors, Marilyn and Jean Singley, who died 20 years ago. Robert died "many years ago," Edna Black said.

"She does not take any prescription drugs," Connors said of her mother. "She drove until she was 98, when she fell and broke some vertebrae in her back. I think she would still be driving if that hadn't happened."

Black moved to the in Farmington Hills 26 years ago, and she's looking at another move, into an assisted living situation, "so there's someone to take care of me in the winter," when her nearby family goes to Florida.

Connors said her mother is getting "forgetful" but added, "She's the only person I know who at her 100th birthday went from table to table to thank people for coming." With a smile, Connors recalled that when someone asked what her mother attributed her longevity to, she replied, "Not dying."

"I'm well," Black said when asked how she was enjoying her special day at Senex. "I have friends here."