Turning 100 was a walk in the park for Ruth Magnuson Brown. Turning 105 was a piece of cake. But as this lady from Nashua approaches her 107th birthday on June 15, those who know her best say the next celebration might be the most challenging.

Because COVID-19 has halted all visitors to Langdon Place of Nashua, where Brown has lived the past five years, her birthday extravaganza will be limited this year. The staff, however, is committed to offering her a grand celebration and is asking the public send Brown cards of encouragement.

She is really quite a resilient woman, said Bethany Willey, director of marketing and admissions with Genesis HealthCare, which includes Langdon Place.

It is still unknown whether Brown will be able to celebrate in person with her family, so employees are making every attempt to ensure a special birthday.

Cards are already coming in for Ruth. We are asking people to keep sending them, and our plan is to present the cards to her on her birthday, Willey said.

Bonnie Brown Oliphant, Browns daughter, said she at least hopes to see her mother through a window if she cant celebrate with her in person.

When people ask her what is her secret to longevity, she says, It is a secret, said Oliphant, 77. But she has also told people to be wise, but not to act too wise.

Brown was the oldest of 10 children. She graduated from eighth grade and then helped raise her younger siblings, according to Oliphant. Although she never went to high school, she attended business school as a young adult.

Brown worked as a comptometer (mechanical calculator) operator and married Robert Brown, an air traffic controller, in 1938. They had two daughters, and Brown lived in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas before moving to New Hampshire.

This has been really hard for my mother, Oliphant said of the quarantine. I am really so saddened by it. I pray every night that my mother will not die before I get to see her again. None of us really know.

Brown is described as a smart, health-conscious woman who was driving until she was 92.

She is so tough. She just doesnt quit, and she doesnt give up, Oliphant said.

Brown moved from Texas to New Hampshire at 101 after her other daughter died.

We all kind of held our breath a little since a move is difficult at any age, but here we are several years later and she is still as sharp as a tack, Willey said.

Turning 100 is a major milestone, Willey said. Turning 107 is phenomenal.

To help Brown celebrate, the public is invited to send birthday cards to Ruth Magnuson Brown at Langdon Place of Nashua, 319 E. Dunstable Rd., Nashua 03062.

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A milestone unlike any other in Nashua | Human Interest - The Union Leader