|
|
| Rose Madsen celebrates 100th birthday |
| |
|
MOUNT OLIVE — Rose Madsen, a resident of Paragon Village, recently celebrated her 100th birthday.
The second oldest child of eight, she was born Jan. 23, 1909, in Grantwood to Joseph Safino and Grace Caccola. She had one brother and six sisters. The family had a store on Gorge Road in Grantwood.
Grantwood later merged with Cliffside Park.
Her mother died at a young age, so Rose took care of her siblings and helped run the family store.
Her early memories include walking to school with all the neighborhood children and having to carry sticks to ward off snakes. She also remembers riding the trolley car to take the ferry to New York City to buy supplies for the store.
She eventually became a nurse and married William M. Madsen in August 1945. They had two sons, James and Joseph, and moved to Middletown in the early 1960s.
She worked for a dentist most of her life, while raising her family.
She moved to Paragon Village in 2003.
Rose attributes her longevity to eating well, making her Catholic faith a priority and having a wonderful family and many friends in her life. She has four grandchildren, Ellisa, Anthony, Timothy and Thomas.
Created: 2/14/2009 | Updated: 2/15/2009
|
|
|
