According to US Census data, about 97,000 people, just 0.03% of the population currently living in the United States, have reached their 100th birthday and beyond – and Walton County is fortunate to have had more than its fair share of them living in the community. In the last month alone, two of these centenarians have celebrated this special milestone in their lives.
On Oct. 16, Virginia Luton got to celebrate her 100th birthday at a celebration and luncheon with friends at the Retreat in Loganville. And this just a month after the Sept. 16th 100th Birthday celebration of local World War II veteran Calvin Dickerson at his home in Jersey, Ga.
Joining Luton in the community room at the Retreat in Loganville for Wednesday’s birthday celebration were her two daughters, Linda Anglin and Cathy Booth, and her son-in-law Terry Booth. Walton County Chairman David Thompson and Loganville Mayor Skip Baliles also dropped in to wish the county’s most recent centenarian a Happy Birthday.
Top left, Virginia Luton, 100; top middle Loganville Mayor Skip Baliles and Walton County Chairman David Thompson with Ms. Virginia and below middle, daughters Linda Anglin and Cathy Booth and son-in-law Terry Booth with Ms. Virginia at her 100th Birthday Celebration at the Retreat in Loganville on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. Photo credit: Sharon Swanepoel
Luton, who lives independently at the cottages in Loganville and up until recently drove her own car, has switched out those wheels for a golf cart which is now her primary means of transportation around her community. She was a member of a bowling league until the age of 95 and said since moving into her home at the Retreat in Loganville she has enjoyed meeting new friends and participating in all the events offered by the Retreat.
“I only gave up bowling because of the covid pandemic,” Luton said. “And I just never went back after that.”
So to what does she attributed her good health and longevity?
“I have no idea! But my mother lived to be nearly 105 and my sister lived to be almost 100. So it’s in the genes, I guess. The only thing that ever worried me about getting older is this up here,” she said, tapping her head. “So I try to keep it busy.”
And the activities at the Retreat give her the opportunity to do do that. Luton said she moved to Loganville to be nearer her family and actually moved into her new home, sight unseen.
“My daughters chose it for me,” she said. “The first time I saw it was the day I moved in. But they made a good choice.”
And the people at the Retreat love having her there and were happy to throw her a party on her actual birth date. But it was only the second of six celebrations that had been lined up to help her celebrate this important milestone. The first one had been arranged for her by her former bowling league team mates.
Born in 1924, Luton has had a very full life, including earning a college degree, volunteer work at schools, church and the Red Cross and more than 6 decades of marriage to her husband, Horace.
Lutron put together a bio, chronicling her 100 years of life and expressing her enjoyment as she looks forward to what’s to come in the future. Her bio is shared below, in her own words!
I was born in Nashville, Tenn., as was my husband, Horace, and our families attended the same church. We started dating when I was a high school senior and he was a college freshman. After WWII started he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and ended up being trained to be a flight engineer. When he thought he might eventually be sent to the Pacific fighting area, we decided to get married and on September 7, 1944 we said our “I does.” About the same time he finished his training the war ended and he was shipped to occupied Japan where he stayed for almost a year serving the 3rd Emergency Rescue Squadron. While he was gone I went back to Peabody College in Nashville to finish my studies and after two quarters graduated with a mathematics major. The head of the mathematics department was not only my math professor but also my father. After Horace returned from Japan and was discharged from the Air Corps, he went back to Vanderbilt, also in Nashville, to finish the last year needed for an engineering degree. After graduating he started working for DuPont. During the 35 years as a DuPonter we were transferred five times and Tucker, Ga. Was our home for 15 of those years. Other locations were Buffalo, N.Y., Circleville, OH, and Wilmington, Del. twice.
We had three daughters, but sadly we lost the oldest one to colon cancer in 2005. I was fortunate to be a stay-at-home mother which enabled me to do a lot of volunteer work in the school, our church and with the Red Cross. I was into a lot of different crafts, sang in the church choir and joined a bowling league. At times over the years it was two leagues. I ended my bowling after 58 years, stopping when I was only 95 only because of the covid pandemic.
Six years after Horace died, in 2015 I decided it was time for me to leave Marietta and move to the eastern side of Atlanta where all my family lived. I ended up moving into a cottage at The Retreat at Loganville and am enjoying each and every day with new friends and new activities. Virginia Luton
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