Arlington Woman Turns 107, Feels No Different From When She Was 100

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington resident Vera Punke, who celebrated her 107th birthday on Wednesday, says she doesn’t feel any different than she did when she was 100.

FOX5 caught up with Punke during a big 107th birthday party for her at the retirement community in Arlington where she lives.

“Many times, people ask me how do I feel at 107,” she told FOX5. “Well, I don’t know. How am I supposed to feel?”

Punke said the secret to longevity is to keep moving forward and to not worry about looking back.

Punke, who remains active, was unable to have a big birthday party to celebrate her 105th birthday in August 2020 due to COVID-19. Back in 2020, she told ABC7 that she still wears heels every day, loves to hang out with her friends, and laugh.

Her grandson Steve Parrott told ABC7 that "she's so sharp."

Punke was born on Aug. 29, 1915, in Providence, Rhode Island, to Rosina and Amadeo Motta, who immigrated to the United States from Italy shortly after the turn of the last century.

At the age of 21, Punke married Al DiMaglio. The couple had two children, Richard and Elda, known as Cookie. Punke held many jobs, paid and unpaid, as a business owner/operator, community activist, Girl Scout den leader and camp director, and as a correspondent for a local newspaper.

In 1959, Punke was widowed. But she refused to allow the grief to bring her down, as her motto was, “If you walk around with a long face, you’ll make everyone unhappy. I always think that you get old by not doing anything. You’ll never get old if you stay busy,” according to a proclamation issued in 2020 by the Arlington County Board in honor of Punke turning 105 years old.

Punke was married and widowed three more times.

"With the celebration of her 105th birthday, Vera is grateful to be surrounded by her loving family — her daughter Cookie, grandsons Steven and Robert, daughters-in-law Kristen and Gia and great-grandsons Evan III, Owen Daniel, Eli Jesse and Joseph Booker, who all are her pride and joy," the Arlington County proclamation read.