‘They’re worth celebrating’: Winnipeg centenarians celebrate at joint birthday party

The Simkin Centre held a birthday party of eight centenarians celebrating their birthdays.

A very special birthday party was held for eight centenarians who call the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre home.

Between the eight women – they’ve lived 816 years.

Edith Landy accounted for the biggest share of that at 104 years young, though she turns 105 next month.

While each birthday girl was toasted for reaching or passing the 100-year milestone, it was how those years were spent that distinguished each one.

In Landy’s case, 40 were spent nursing at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre.

Violet Nychuk was married to her beloved Richard for 67 of her nearly 104 years, while Sonya Kaminsky spent four in Russia before immigrating with her family to Canada.

Her dad went on to be a part-owner of City Bread.

While Kaminsky turns 100 later this month, the number of loaves of marble rye her family had a hand in baking was not accounted for, nor was the number of purchases 104-year-old Edith Allen rang up while working at Eaton’s or hours spent volunteering at her church.

No matter how their considerable time was spent, each centenarian was presented Tuesday with a plaque and treated to an afternoon of entertainment, food, and fun.

The party is an annual tradition at the care home and one of the facility’s CEO’s favourites.

“Turning 100 is a really rare thing and these residents that we have here are just so simply amazing that they’re worth celebrating,” Laurie Cerqueti told CTV News Winnipeg.