Family and friends of Hazel Huras celebrated her 100th birthday with an open house in Stratford on April 1.
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That’s no joke. She turned 100 the following day, April 2, and a week after the celebration Huras admitted she never imagined she’d reach the century mark.
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“I never ever thought I would get this old, but it happened,” she said with a chuckle over the phone from her Stratford place of residence, her daughter Susan not far away after dropping by for a visit. “I am in good health and partially healthy. . . so I guess I have a lot to be grateful for.”
Hazel was born on a farm near Dublin in Hibbert Township on April 2, 1924, the fourth of six children to Alex and Lettie Roney. She became a teacher and taught at one-room schools in both Hibbert and at Hamlet public school in Stratford.
It was the Festival City where she met Raymond Huras, whom she married on Aug. 1, 1953, and together they had three daughters: Susan, Nancy and Faye. The Hurases were also blessed with six grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
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Raymond passed away on Oct. 26, 2015, at the age of 96.
Hazel’s father also lived well into his 90s, so she says she followed her father’s footsteps in that regard as her mother passed away at a much younger age.
“He never went to the hospital or to a doctor. He was his own doctor and it worked for him,” she said. “I took after my dad, I guess.”
Although a little hard of hearing, Huras feels good and admits she doesn’t really have a secret to a long life. Instead, she said she just considers 100 a number. It’s also clear she still has her sense of humor. When asked how she was when she initially got on the phone, she replied “I’m still kicking.”
The birthday open house was held at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Stratford, a church where Huras and her daughters are members.
“I didn’t want them to make a big fuss but we had mostly relatives and friends and it was a lovely party,” she said. “I appreciated it after all.”
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