Lake Ariel resident celebrates 109th birthday at Julia Ribaudo Extended Care Center

"Bacon," said Stephanie Demeo, suggesting a reason her grandmother Frances Gagliardi has lived to celebrate reaching 109 years old. "She loves it."

Gagliardi was feted by family and friends with cupcakes on her birthday, April 5, at Julia Ribaudo Extended Care Center in Lake Ariel, where she has resided for the past 10 years. Two of her granddaughters, Stephanie Demeo and Christina Gagliardi, shared about her life.

She was born April 5, 1915, to Mary and Joseph Cafero, the oldest of eight children, all girls. She was born in the Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City. She then moved to Dooley Street in Sheepshead Bay when she was a little girl.

Frances was the first in this Italian family to be born in America.

"Everyone called them Honey and Papa," Christina Gagliardi related about her grandmother's parents. The next born, Angelina, died at only a few weeks old. Their subsequent daughter was also named Angelina and was followed by Stella, Katie, Nan, Diane and Mary. Frances outlived them all.

"One sister died at 100 and another, 102," Demeo said, pointing to her grandmother in her birthday hat. "She's 109."

Their father delivered ice. These were the pre-refrigeration days when winters, colder on average in decades past, allowed thick ice on lakes to be harvested with horse teams. Arriving by train to the city and stored in vast ice houses packed with sawdust or straw, it took men like Cafero to haul the frozen blocks to customers.

"She was an excellent Italian cook," Christina Gagliardi recalled. Her grandmother was married to Frank Gagliardi, with whom she raised two children, Frank and Phyllis.

When Frances got married, she lived with her husband and children on Bedford Avenue in Sheepshead Bay.

Frank Gagliardi worked as a longshoreman at the fishing docks. In 1954, he was cast in a one-line speaking role in the Academy Award-winning movie "On the Waterfront" starring Marlin Brando.

He died in 1979. She lived in Sheepshead Bay until she was 99.

Asked to describe their grandmother, Demeo called her "feisty." Her cousin Christina Gagliardi agreed, noting she would not take nonsense from anyone. Gagliardi added she was "very loving and caring" and called her grandmother the "heart of our family."

When younger, Frances worked for AT&T, where she retired. She would take her grandkids places like the amusement park or aquarium, and would chaperone on field trips. She was regularly active in her church, St. Mark's Parish in Sheepshead Bay. She worked in the library of the parish school. Additionally, she became active with the Bay Improvement Group, supporting efforts to preserve the bay.

"She never drove a day in her life," Demeo said, suspecting this as another reason for her longevity.

When Frances needed extra care, her daughter, who lived in Wayne County at the time, brought her here, where she has been a resident at Julia Ribaudo's for 10 years.

Her children were unable to attend the 109th birthday party due to medical reasons, Christina Gagliardi said.

In all, Frances has four grandchildren, Christina, Frankie, Arthur and Stephanie; and four great-grandchildren, Sarah, Briana, Isabella and Caeden.

Christina Gagliardi stated that one of her grandmother's friends at Julia Ribaudo's reached 104 and another, 106. "She took over and has been the oldest for the past three years," she said, adding that the other residents there call her Grandma.

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Lake Ariel resident, marking 109th birthday, loves her bacon