MOUNT VERNON — What’s the secret to a long life ... 102 years long?
“Live right, eat well,” said Kathryn Richardson, who turned 102 on Sunday. “I’ve been vegetarian all my life. I’ve had good health. I’ve never been sick except for a cold now and then. I’ve never been in the hospital. All three of my babies were born at home.”
A native of Harrisburg, Pa., Richardson arrived in Ohio on the train in 1920, alone and age 14, to attend the Mount Vernon Academy. She said she was homesick occasionally, but graduated in 1924; and the next year married Robert, whom she met at the Academy where he taught mechanics. He was a native of Mount Vernon, so the couple settled here.
“He was a doll,” she said of her deceased husband. “He was so good to me. And he was a wonderful father.”
Summerville at HillenVale, where Richardson resides, hosted an open house in her honor on her birthday, with music and plenty of visitors.
“She loves music and she loves people,” said activities director Taylor Caldwell.
Richardson sang soprano in church choirs for years, and led the choir at the Seventh-day Adventist Hill Church on Wooster Road. Her favorite music is sacred music, although she can’t pick a favorite hymn.
“They’re all wonderful,” she said. “They mean a lot to me. We had music in our home a lot. All my children had [a talent for] music.”
Sue Elder, HillenVale’s concierge, said she is amazed at the speed at which Richardson gets around, walking often and quickly around the facility with her walker.
“She walks faster than I do,” said Elder.
“We’re so proud of you,” Caldwell told Richardson. “We all want to live to be 100 or more.”
But the centenarian remained humble.
“I just tried to be good,” she told Caldwell. “And I taught my children to be good.”
Although her birthday has passed, Richardson welcomes cards, letters and visits. Her address is 1615 Yauger Road, #C2, Mount Vernon 43050.
