LI Woman Celebrates 102nd Birthday: 'I Feel Only 80 Years Old'

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — A Long Island woman celebrated her 102nd birthday at the Port Washington Community Active Adult Center this week.

Anna Caraccio turned 102 years old on Feb. 2nd amongst friends and family. The PWCAAC celebrated her milestone with a bubbly apple cider toast and cake on Feb. 3 with members, as well as Caraccio's son, daughter-in-law, and sister Rose, who is 96 years old. She said she feels very blessed to be so fortunate.

"It's quite an achievement turning 102 years old, but in my mind, I feel only 80 years old," she said.

She was born in 1924 in New York City and later grew up in the Bronx on Walton Avenue. She said she cherished a close-knit family of three sisters and one brother. Life was not easy for her as a child. At an early age, her father passed away, leaving her mother to raise four young children alone. Money was scarce for her family, but they stuck together and grew.

After WWII, she said she married her sweetheart, Silvester, and began their life together in a rented room in a friend's home.

When Caraccio was 25 years old, she faced a year-long battle with tuberculosis, which caused her to live apart from her family in upstate NY while she was recovering. She is a mother of three children, a grandmother of three, and a great-grandmother of six. She spends quality time with her family, with all three children living on Long Island, too.

Caraccio shared that she is most thankful for her health and family built together with her husband, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She does not drink any alcohol, is a hearty eater, and loves her sweets.

She never mentions regrets in life, and said that "one should follow their dreams, be true to himself, there is good in everyone, and that we should all save for old age."