A little bit of Irish luck, a healthy lifestyle, and showing kindness to others are the recipe for a long life, according to Manor at Market Square resident Helen Troller.
The centenarian, who turned 104 years old on Wednesday, celebrated with homemade cupcakes during a party attended by family and friends at the senior living community in downtown Reading, where she’s been a resident for seven years.
Troller, who once adorned red hair and survived colon cancer in the mid-‘80s, credits her healthy living. She never drank alcohol, smoked, or gambled. “The secret, however, is be kind to others,” she said.
Born in Girardville, Pennsylvania, she would eventually settle in Fullerton, Pennsylvania, where she and her husband built their home, a beautiful Cape Cod with a white picket fence, upon his return from World War II.
Troller loved to garden. She still appreciates a rose in full bloom, having hand-chosen roses and azaleas for her home that she kept beautifully manicured.
She also managed Russell Stover Chocolates in Allentown, Pennsylvania, for 20 years, receiving many awards and often having the pleasure of accompanying Clara Stover to lunch.
She is proud of her two daughters, six grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
