At The Village of Humber Heights retirement home in Toronto, there is a quiet acceptance that some residents may not stay long. Marie Rosa knows that well.
Rosa was born on Sept. 17, 1915, when Canadian women did not have the right to vote. She lived through the First World War, spent her teens during the Great Depression, and served as a seamstress and forewoman during the Second World War.
Her daughter, Cathie Sinisalo, said those Depression years shaped Rosa’s habits and passed on a lesson to her family.
“Not wasting a thing. Like you scrape the butter off the paper, you don’t just wrap it and throw it away,” Cathie said.
Rosa has lived through 17 prime ministers, three bouts of COVID-19 and the loss of many loved ones. In May, her sister Virginia Del Brocco, who lived at the same retirement home, died at 103.
Cathie said Rosa still found joy, even though she does not say much these days.
“We would drop my dad off at work at the post office,” Cathie said. “Then we’d take the car and visit an aunt or a sister or something.”
Cathie then asked her mother, “You enjoyed driving when you could, right? Yeah!” and Rosa nodded in agreement.
Fashion was another source of joy.
“She wouldn’t buy many clothes, but she loved it,” Cathie said.
On the day of the visit, Rosa was getting her hair done for a party marking her as Canada’s oldest living person. Seniors, staff and dignitaries attended the event.
The celebration also included the passing down of a crown created by the family of Burdett “Burd” Sisler, who held the title before Rosa. Sisler died in April at 110.
His son, Norm Sisler, said his father shared Rosa’s habit of making things count.
“They’re the ones that straightened nails and used them again. You didn’t waste any of that,” Norm Sisler said.
Cathie said watching her mother slowly slip away has been painful.
“I’m losing her a bit, a bit at a time,” Cathie said. “That hurts.”
Asked if she had told her mother everything she wanted to say, Cathie said, “I think so. I think I have done that.”
Rosa nodded again.
Her family now spans four generations, including Cathie’s grandson Mason Sinisalo and her son Dave Sinisalo.
“Being able to learn and just understand the value of family and love and cherish that I think is incredible,” Dave said.
Cathie said her mother’s message to people has always been simple.
“She always tells people when she’s talking to them that you’ve got to love everybody, right? You love everybody. Everybody is precious, right mom? You love everybody, and they love you.”
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