(Editor’s note: This story ran July 29, in the Auburn Reporter, prior to Reathel’s birthday. The Kent Reporter staff hopes she had a happy birthday.)
On the brink of becoming a centenarian, a feisty yet generous Reathel Norberg really doesn’t know how it will feel.
“Get me through Saturday and I’ll let you know,” said the Auburn woman. “I don’t know why I’m living so long … but I know I feel fine.”
Norberg, who was born and raised in Kent and lived in the Green River Valley throughout most of her active life, turned 100 Aug. 1. Family and friends threw her a party at the Rio Verde Mobile Home Estates, 1402 22nd St. NE, Auburn.
Norberg welcomes all the fuss and is enjoying her milestone.
“I don’t mind it at all,” she said.
Norberg is the first in her family to reach 100. Her father, a railroad man, and her brother each lived to be 97.
She will join an elite company. The United States currently has the greatest number of centenarians in the world, estimated at 96,548 on Nov. 1, 2008. The U.S. number is partly a function of America’s burgeoning growth from 1890-1910, large farm population a century ago, and an increased emphasis on long-term care facilities.
For Norberg, longevity means taking good care of yourself and staying active. She’s a light eater and takes her supplements.
Cod liver oil has been a part of her diet since 1937.
Norberg’s parents came from Nebraska, moved to Oklahoma and then to Kent. She spent her school years in Kent, graduating from Kent High School.
During the summer, she worked at the Libby canning plant with her father.
The family lived and survived on meager means. Her mother was a seamstress and her large, well-stocked closet would supply dresses to girls who needed them.
Reathel and Bert Norberg were married on Oct. 18, 1934. Both worked at Boeing – Bert as an engineer, Reathel in the release unit where airplane drawings were dialogued and kept.
They enjoyed dancing, often occupying the floor at the historic Castle Hall on Highway 99. “Anytime we had a dollar, we would go dancing,” she said.
They settled in Kent, raising a son and daughter. They retired on Orcas Island, wintered at their second home in Arizona and travelled.
The couple eventually moved to Auburn.
Bert passed away in 2008.
Living at the Parkside Retirement Center in Auburn today, Reathel stays active with family and friends. She has four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
She enjoys children, playing cards, reading and sharing her good sense of humor and laughter with family and friends.
“I’ve had a good life,” she said.
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