107-Year-Old Tinley Park Woman Lives Through Second Pandemic

TINLEY PARK, IL — Family members presented their matriarch Laura Petruzzelli with a belated Mother’s Day car parade last Saturday. At age 107 — she’ll turn 108 in August — Laura is Tinley Park’s oldest known resident.

Born in Oregon in 1912, Laura was six years old during the 1918 flu pandemic. In high school, her nickname was “Legs” because she ran track. She also worked at a potato chip factory.

A lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, Laura waited over 100 years to see her beloved Cubbies win a World Championship. Her favorite player is Willson Contreras.

Laura needs a wheelchair and oxygen to get around, but she’s still sharp as a tack and not happy that there aren’t any baseball games to watch on TV in this darn pandemic.

Other famous people born in 1912 include Julia Child, Danny Thomas, Dale Evans and Jay Silverheels.

Watch our interview with Laura

Video by Lorraine Swanson | Patch