How do you live to be 103? Keep moving and eat cake every day, Queens great-grandmother says
NEW YORK — A great-grandmother in Queens is in the prime of her life, turning 103 years young Friday.
She hasn't lost her sparkle and shared her special recipe for a long and beautiful life with CBS News New York's Elle McLogan.
Anni Petsche celebrates 103rd birthday in Middle Village
Anni Petsche makes her own coffee, even on her birthday.
Her family says their "oma," German for grandma, is a wellspring of love and wisdom, and a ruthless pinochle player.
Her secret to eternal youth: keep moving, and enjoy a daily slice of cake.
Born in Munich, she has lived in Middle Village since the 1960s among caring neighbors in a house full of memories. She loves watching "The Sound of Music" and "The Price is Right."
"She wants to do everything on her own," granddaughter Renate Hinsch said.
But there are parts of her life she prefers not to talk about – her childhood in an orphanage and, later, going into labor with her second child at a refugee camp in Austria.
"Growing up in Europe during the wartime, raising two kids when there was nothing, it's amazing," daughter-in-law Brigitte Petsche said.
After she moved to Queens, she went to work at a knitting mill. Now, she is caretaker for her daughter Erna, who is 20 years younger and living with dementia.
"She is very cool," Erna Petsche said.
Anni says a group home is not in the cards. She plans to stay in her home and look after herself.
"She has always been the most positive person I know," granddaughter Andrea Bopp said.
You can email Elle with Queens story ideas by CLICKING HERE.
