102 Years Young
On July 11th, friends and family filled the Moody Y to celebrate the 102nd birthday of Genevieve Madigan. Genevieve has been a member at the Moody Y for over 25 years and continues to drive herself to the Y around 3 times a week. “She never gives up." states Brenda Rabe, Associate Director of Member Services at the Moody Y.. "I called her this one time and asked why I haven’t seen her and she told me she got the flu. I started freaking out asking if she was okay and she responds calmly with 'Ahhh, I have been better!' She just always has a positive attitude about everything."
At 102, Genevieve not only stays physically active, but mentally as well. Genevieve writes a poem every year for her birthday as a way to reflect on the past year. Mary Helen Martin, Genevieve's youngest daughter says: “The importance my mother always placed on having an education and the importance of reading in particular is one of the greatest lessons I learned from her. She is a voracious reader and writes her own poetry and has for years. "These experiences had a long-term impact on Mary, who is now an educator herself. Mary says, it always was expected that we would get a high-quality education and do something useful and important in the world with it. It’s all about giving back. She used to drive for Meals on Wheels and made braille books, so I think it was more my parents instilling in us the importance in giving back.”
One of Genevieve's secrets to health is the good company that has surrounded her. "I have six children, 20 grandchildren, 54 great grandchildren, and seven great-great grandchildren. I am the baby in my family and I had some of my family live till their 90s but I past them all!" Genevieve shares. Throughout the party Genevieve's smile did not wane at all as she was constantly greeted by her friends wishing her the best. "My secret to health is just enjoying life I suppose. People are wonderful, and the older you get the nicer they get! Just perfect strangers asking if they can help me and such."
The rest of the celebration consisted of homemade Indian food made by friends at Moody Y, a relaxing massage from the Moody's massage therapist, and to top it off, a delicious homemade birthday cake made by Brenda. Genevieve plans to celebrate the rest of her birthday with more of her family in Chicago at the end of July. "We are going to check off some old memories because I was born there and moved when I was 25, so it’s been a long time since I have lived there.” We wish Genevieve and the rest of her family a wonderful trip back to her hometown!
Authored: Colleen McCauley, 2018 YMCA Dallas Storyteller Intern