Sept. 7 will be a milestone for lifelong Aurora resident Imelda Johnson, who will turn 100 years old, something the mother of three children who has seven grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren doesn’t take for granted.
Sitting in her home near the Fox River, Johnson’s soft and alert eyes match the voice she uses to talk about her family and how she believes she has managed to be around and experience so much.
“I was married for nearly 60 years and I lost my husband 22 years ago. I always thought I would be the one who would go first, that I’d go before my hubby,” Johnson said. “I lived here all my life and I loved the town.”
She said she has been busy ever since she was young.
“Ever since I was in high school I worked. I spent 42 years in Ace Hardware, mostly in housewares and gift wrapping. I worked at Ace until I was 82,” she said. “I really liked my bosses and the owners real well. It was close to my house and part-time and I really enjoyed it.”
During World War II, Johnson said she worked in a law office and also worked at a drive-in “for a long time.”
“It was a drive-in but they also served people inside,” she said.
When asked what has contributed to her long life, Johnson did give a nod to her own gene pool as well as a trifecta of habits that she says have worked for her and many others.
“Some people have lived a long time in our family already,” she said. “As far as getting this far in life – faith, exercise and diet have been the things for me. Faith is the most important.”
Johnson said her diet advice “is not to eat too many sweets” despite having a small dish of candy on her kitchen table.
“It’s hard to pass by the candy dish,” she admits. “As far as my favorite, go-to meal I’d have to say it was chop suey – old-fashioned chop suey. My sister used to make it. We came from a family of nine. I used to be a good cook and I liked to make roasts with mashed potatoes and veggies.”
The exercise part included water sports into her early 70s and a passion for biking, which she said she was doing along the Fox River until she was 94.
“I still ride a stationary bike here in the house,” she said.
Johnson said she has seen a lot of changes over the years.
“I drove until I was 95 and I think they have come a long way with cars now, but I liked the old cars too,” she said. “My grandson has my last car now … and it’s still running. I gave it to him when I was 96.”
Christmas continues to be her favorite holiday “because it was my husband’s birthday.”
“I also like the Fourth of July because you get to see the fireworks from down here,” she said.
Johnson said she continues to be a member of the church where she was married, and reads the Bible often. Family members like her granddaughter Cheryl Mitzel of Plano know Johnson is praying for them regularly.
“I’m the first granddaughter and there are lots of fun memories with grandma and grandpa. We’d come down here and they taught us to water ski. Many a night they played guitars and that inspired me to learn how to play the steel guitar,” Mitzel said. “We had lots of parties and we used to jump off the roof into the swimming pool.”
When she was a youngster, Mitzel said her fondest memories include Christmas and “grandma putting out a big spread and gifts galore.”
A big family party is already in the works to celebrate Johnson turning 100, including Mitzel saying she’s “making lots of cake.”
Johnson still lives alone, something her eldest granddaughter calls “amazing.”
“I brag about her to everyone. My great-grandmother lived until she was nearly 104, so I’m not surprised she’s still around,” Mitzel said of her grandmother. “There is longevity in the family but I’m so glad she’s still here. The things I learned the most from my grandmother are to be kind and loving. She’s gentle and she has taught us to live life that way.”
Like everyone, Johnson acknowledges her own mortality and says that when she’s gone, she hopes people “will say that they loved me.”
“I hope I’ve taught them by my example and that they all think of me and try to live the right way in life and follow a faith. That’s the only thing that’s kept me going,” she said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
