Celebrating a 100th birthday is rare; Gables resident makes the most of every moment
President Jimmy Carter turned 100 years old recently, and so did longtime Coral Gables resident Janet Roston. Both celebrated a landmark birthday few reach, just days after National Centenarian Day on Sept. 22.
Janet, an avid Scrabble player who loves a good trivia challenge, is always eager to learn new things including how to use her iPhone.
Now a sociable resident of Belmont Village Senior Living Coral Gables, she worked as a public relations account executive from 1955 to 1960.
In 1980 she embarked on a fulfilling career at Knight Ridder, then the publisher of the Miami Herald, all while raising her family.
Janet attributes her longevity to staying active physically and mentally, and making the most of every moment. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Class of 1946.
She celebrated her milestone with more than a dozen family members, including her children and grandchildren, as well as more than 60 of her friends at Belmont Village, where she was surprised with a birthday sash, tiara and cake.
Looking back on her long life, Janet said her teenage years were her favorite decade. “I would have loved to have had a party just like this when I was a teenager,” she said.
VOLUNTEERING IS AGELESS
Even though April is National Volunteer Month, I want to shine a light on these women, who range in age from 17 to 101 years old.
They are different in many ways, besides age; yet they regularly stay in touch to share joy, wisdom and lessons in dedicated service.
Lynne Warrick, 101, said she was profoundly influenced by her mother, Ethel Duchemin, who often said, “Love never fails.” Known as “Ma Lynne,” Warrick began her career as a secretary for the U.S. government due to her typing speed and accuracy. She said she advanced to the role of analyst under Rear Admiral Bruce Keener III.
Her mother’s message inspired Warrick to dedicate her post-retirement years to serving others, especially by creating scholarships for elementary and middle school students.
Joanie “The Harp Lady” Helgesen, 84, was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and started life in an orphanage. She was adopted and began playing piano at 8 years old. She found her true calling as a harpist and, at 10 years old, she received a high merit music achievement award from The National Federation of Music Clubs. She was later honored with a music scholarship at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Helgesen was encouraged to enter music competitions and won world titles. Her motto is: “If we don’t try, we don’t know if we can do it.” She now plans to open a music club to teach both young and mature students. She still performs as a soloist in South Florida.
Diane Moore-Eubanks, 61, was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and serves as chancellor of Global Oved Dei Seminary and University (GODSU), an international educational e-platform. Moore-Eubanks is dedicated to inspiring the university’s alumni to become selfless leaders and make a positive impact on the world.
Moore-Eubanks empowers women to reach new heights and overcome obstacles. Since 2009, she said, she has helped over 11,000 people in Nigeria and Ghana start their own small businesses and reach financial success.
Her daughter is Sudan Eubanks, 17, a senior at Cushman High School and its Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald Silver Knight Finalist in English and Literature. Sudan’s work as a volunteer began in third grade with the Peer Pal program, in which she helped younger students with physical and mental disabilities.
Sudan leads Reading With Royalty, a nonprofit she founded during the pandemic to provide reading videos for hospitalized children. Since 2020, Sudan has mobilized more than 500 reading volunteers in Canada, Australia, Greece, England, the Netherlands, Jamaica and the U.S.
PLAYWRIGHT HONORS PARENTS AND HISTORY
Miami native and acclaimed playwright Keith C. Wade is presenting the moving story of his parents’ lives working at the Hampton House Motel, where history often came through the doors.
The world premiere of the stage production, “The Last Sun of the Hampton House,” is set in the years 1964 to 1975. It captivates the audience in an “immersive interactive theatrical and musical experience” of the life and times of Henry and Barbara Wade.
One story, the opening act, begins on Feb. 25, 1964, the night Muhammad Ali, then called Cassius Clay, won the heavyweight title over Sonny Liston in Miami Beach. Blacks were not permittedto use lodging on Miami Beach because of Jim Crow-era segregation laws, so Clay, Malcolm X and others celebrated at the Hampton House.
The final show is at 5 p.m., Oct. 6, at The Historic Hampton House Museum and Cultural Center, 4240 NW 27th Ave.
Oct. 6 is also the playwright’s birthday. And though his parents both passed away within the last year and he has suffered a heart attack, he is determined to share his parents’ story with the world.
“The piece is my love letter to Miami, and the Hampton House, but more than anything it’s the declaration of my parents legacy in this city. Their names should be remembered,” said Wade. Tickets on Eventbrite bit.ly/4dv7rrG
BAND CELEBRATES 46 YEARS OF MUSIC
The Greater Miami Symphonic Band will open its new concert season with a reflection on 46 years of performing for the community. The event is at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 at the University of Miami Maurice Gusman Concert Hall.
Music Director Robert Longfield is including Alfred Reed’s “Sixth Suite for Band” and “La Fiesta Mexicana” in addition to “Colossus of Columbia” by Russell Alexander. Guest conductor Gary Green will lead the band in Alfred Reed’s “Armenian Dances,” “The Seventh Night of July” by Itaru Sakai, and a moving rendition of “Lux Aurumque” by Eric Whitacre.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $5 for students and children 5 and older. Buy at the box office or online at www.GMSB.org
Write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com with news for this column.
