Alle-Kiski Valley native says turning 100 'is unbelievable,' plans large birthday bash

Jean Magness woke up in her North Apollo home Thursday and pondered turning 100 years old by conducting a weather check.

“I was hoping it would be a nice day on my birthday,” Magness said. “This day is good. I’m very glad to be here. It looks pretty good.

“I couldn’t believe it. It feels special because I got to live this long.”

Magness grew up the daughter of the late James and Margaret Knabb on Linden Street in Vandergrift.

“I liked growing up there,” Magness said. “My grandparents had a big barn, and we played in there.”

Magness graduated from Vandergrift High School in 1940. She married Robert Magness in 1942 in Winchester, Va., when he was on a one-week leave from the Army during World War II.

Joyce Hanz | Tribune-Review

Vandergrift residents Jean (Knabb) and Robert Magness got married in 1942 in Winchester, Va.

The Magnesses raised three girls, Robin Rearick of North Apollo, Judy Erwin of Ohio and Denise Lamison of Apollo, in the same home she still owns on Allison Avenue.

During World War II, Magness worked for about four years as a mail clerk and then in accounting at Carnegie Illinois Steel in Vandergrift.

Later, she worked as a bank teller at Vandergrift Saving and Trust.

“I learned banking once I was there. They trained me,” she said.

A consistent breakfast routine includes peanut butter toast and coffee with cream.

Magness likes to watch “Young Sheldon” on TV. Back in the day, she said, “The Price Is Right” ranked high on her viewing list.

“It’s so natural, like regular life,” she said.

Magness still has good mobility and enjoys receiving Meals on Wheels from Armstrong County Area of the Aging.

“I like to cook beef,” she said. “I like steak. I like a roast or steak. I order it well-done.”

Her beauty routine includes Oil of Olay face cream. “That’s all I ever use,” she said.

Magness still enjoys outings to her favorite restaurant, Valley Dairy, in Armstong and Indiania counties. She said she occasionally attends church services at Vandergrift United Methodist and likes shopping at the mall.

“We all feel blessed to have her still around,” said Rearick, her eldest daughter. “Anyone in the family that can help out does. I don’t want her to go. After having her around for so long, you think she’s always going to be here. She does great physically.”

Magness said positive thinking and one special snack food has contributed to her triple-digit birthday status.

“I like peanuts,” she said. “I have them almost every day. I like the salt. My husband brought me peanuts instead of chocolates when we were dating. We were all nutty.”

Avoiding alcohol consumption is a top priority for Magness, who just aced her latest physical.

“I saw too many people drinking and problems that go with it,” she said.

Magness said the biggest challenge during her lifetime was the Great Depression in the 1920s.

“My mother started to do housework for people to earn money,” she said. “We didn’t go shopping much. My mom sewed. She made me a green jacket with a skirt. … I leaned a lot on my family, and I had a lot of friends in the church.”

Magness’s birthday dinner plans will include a supper with family at Allusion Brewing Co. in Vandergrift.

“It’s memories when I go back to Vandergrift,” Magness said. “Most of my friends were Italian, and they were nice people. I lived in the Park Plan.”

When she was younger, Magness enjoyed playing the piano, dancing, playing cards and reading.

“I read every day. I love mysteries — Agatha Christie,” she said.

Magness has seven grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Susie Speer of Apollo is one of her caregivers and checks on her several times a week.

Speer decribed Magness as fantastic, loving and funny — referring to her as a “second mother.”

“I’ve known her since I was 7 years old,” Speer said. “I think her turning 100 is fantastic, and I feel fortunate to be a part of her life. She’s so positive and tries to be helpful, thoughtful, and she has never lost what I feel is her independence.”

A birthday party in Magness’s honor, with more than 140 invited guests, is planned for Saturday, June 11 at North Apollo Church of God.

“I think it’s special,” Magness said. “I like parties.”