100 Years Young: Shorewood Neighbors Celebrate Woman's 100th Birthday

The secret to a long life?

"Lots of coffee and sweets," says May Jones. “That keeps you going.”

And Jones would know — she celebrated her 100th birthday on Thursday, and 60 of her Shorewood neighbors came out to celebrate with her. 

Jones has spent her entire life in Wisconsin. She was born in Iola on May 16, 1913. She married Malcolm Jones on May 19, 1945, a WaupacaNOW article says, and eventually moved to Milwaukee in 1946 and Shorewood in 1966 — where she has remained, in the same house on North Larkin Avenue. 

She said in her time in Milwaukee, she was connected with a hospital and enjoyed volunteering. 

As part of celebrating her birthday, Jones said she had relatives in from Arizona and Illinois, and her pastor and his wife stopped by.

“I got a lot of flowers and beautiful flowers, bouquets,” she said.

In addition to the coffee and sweets, Jones contributed her longevity to avoiding cigarettes, alcohol and too much meat. 

A celebration of life

Jones' Larkin Avenue neighbor Pam Busalacchi organized the birthday celebration Thursday, drawing the majority of the block, which serenaded her on her front lawn.

Busalacchi said when she heard that Jones asked why there wasn't a sign on her front lawn announcing her birthday when she turned 99, she thought she had to do something for her when she hit the century mark.

Many of the neighbors — wearing paper glasses shaped like 100s — greeted Jones with a "happy birthday" on Thursday and introduced themselves by explaining who used to live in their Shorewood homes. 

Jones said she has been bed-ridden lately, but she is a resilient woman. Her daughter Jana said Jones fell down a flight of basement stairs at age 90, but she recovered, and was obviously able to enjoy life for another decade. 

She said she's looking forward to more relatives visiting over the weekend and celebrating another birthday. 

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