107-year-old New York woman says secret of long life is ‘I never got married’

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A New York woman celebrated her 107th birthday Wednesday with a big party in the Bronx that included 100 of her closest friends.

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Louise Signore was born in Harlem in 1912, according to WCBS-TV, when President William Howard Taft was still in office, Alaska became a U.S territory, Arizona and New Mexico joined the United States and the Titanic hit an iceberg.

 

Her friends marvel at her health.

"She's got no walking cane, no wheelchair. She does all her shopping. She's awesome," friend Deborah Whitaker told WCBS.

Aisha Parillon, the director of senior services at the Jewish Association Serving the Aging or JASA, an agency dedicated to New York City's seniors, credits Signore's social life for her longevity, the news station reported.

“I think that her connection with her neighbors in the community and also her friends here at the senior center help to keep her going,” Parillon said.

But longevity most likely runs in Signore’s family. Her sister is 102.

Signore still lives on her own and said that’s a key to a low-stress environment, but she’s still very active at her community center in Coop City.

"If they have exercise, I do the exercise. If they have dancing, I dance. I still do a little dancing. After my lunch, I will play bingo, so I had a full day," Signore told WCBS.

When asked what’s the secret to such a long life, Signore admits she thinks Italian food has played a big part in her longevity.

“Italian food is very good for you,” she said. “I was brought up with very good food. No soda, no cake.”

But she also credits something else, according to WCBS.

“I think the secret of 107: I never got married. I think that’s the secret. My sister says, ‘I wish I never got married,’” Signore said.

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