Elgin woman celebrates 100th birthday

One hundred is an OK age, but 75 was much better, Vi Watermann says.

"The best was when my children were younger," the quick-to-smile Elgin centenarian adds. "We would go out and ice skate and play in the snow. That's what I always did with my children."

Still, Watermann, who celebrated her milestone birthday Tuesday, has plenty of spark left to enjoy some of the things she's always loved - her family, her garden and her church, St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Elgin.

The church, where she was a member of the choir for 30 years, will hold a coffee fellowship in her honor at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, after the service. "I think they are foolish to go through all that trouble," Watermann said with a big grin.

Watermann was born May 12, 1915, in the same little country house in Yorkville where her four siblings were born. The family moved to Elgin when she was 5, and later Watermann graduated from Hampshire High School and married her late husband, Wilbert.

The couple had three children - Lory, Linda and Lee. There are now five generations in the family, including a great-great-grandchild born last year.

She and her husband bought the Boroco picture framing shop at 207 E. Chicago St. in downtown Elgin. She ended up running the shop by herself after her husband died in 1976 until she retired in 1994. It's now closed.

Watermann is in remarkably good health for her age, said her daughter, Lory Prestidge of Elgin. "She was athletic her whole life, she was an archery champion," Prestidge said. "That's why she's doing well now."

Skiing and riding bicycles always were among her favorite things, Watermann said. She also loves roses - she was president of the Fox Valley Rose Society, her daughter said - and still spends as much time as possible in her garden.

Two trips to Norway were among the highlights of her life, said Watermann, who is 100 percent of Norwegian descent. "I loved it," she said. "I really did."