Monroeville resident Ruth Clark has seen a lot in her lifetime.
She was born to John and Amelia Schaffer just before the roaring 1920s and grew up in Bellvue during the Great Depression.
Clark witnessed the development of countless technological and medical advancements and has been around to see 19 presidential administrations.
She said her secret to longevity is to be agreeable.
“Learn to be agreeable (and) be happy,” she said.
Her granddaughter, Barbara Trozzi of Plum, said there is a little more to it than that.
“As somebody who’s observed her for 55 years, I’d say being willing to laugh and stay in touch with the inner child because she’s always looking for fun,” Trozzi said.
The 1937 Perry High School graduate celebrated her 102nd birthday June 11 with a handful of family members inside the lobby of the Harbour Assisted Living facility along Mosside Boulevard.
Staffers decorated her door and gave a large birthday card they and other residents had signed.
“I’m ready for the next 100,” Clark said. “I have seen most everything, unless there’s something they’re working on.”
Trozzi said the family celebrated last year’s birthday through the window of the facility since they could not be together due to the pandemic.
“I’m glad she’s here,” Trozzi said. “I’m glad my family’s finally vaccinated and we can come and visit her and know that she’s safe. I have missed hugging my grandmother and my parents.”
Trozzi said the Harbour had many covid safety protocols in place, which the family is grateful for.
“The home wasn’t being cruel or strict or anything,” she said. “It was for her safety and they did a really good job here. It was hard, but I’d do it again if it kept her safe.”
Clark has been a resident at Harbour since 2016. She said she likes to keep staffers on their toes and enjoys her time there.
“If you’re halfway decent they take good care of you,” Clark said.
Clark worked at Reymers Candy Co. in Pittsburgh, the makers of the uncarbonated soft drink Lemon Blennd.
She also served as an associate at Boggs & Buhl department store and Wyman Pharmacy both on the North Side.
“I must have been bad luck because everything I worked at ain’t around (anymore),” Clark said.
She met her husband, U.S. Steel machinist Charles Clark, through a friend. The pair wed on Thanksgiving 1941.
“We came home from our honeymoon and war was declared,” Ruth Clark said. The United States declared war on Japan and became fully engaged in World War II in December of that year.
The pair were married for 45 years before Charles Clark died in 1986. Their daughter’s name is Georgeann.
Clark also has a grandson, David, and four great-grandchildren; Katie, Ben, Alexander and Hannah.
Clark said she has been to Egypt several times, India and other countries and hopes to travel and see the rest of the world.
