111 Years Young, Third-Oldest Pennsylvanian to Celebrate Birthday at Penn Center for Rehabilitation and Care

The longevity revolution in Philadelphia continues. Super-centenarian Ms. Willie Lassiter will be celebrating her 111th birthday in style on Friday, in the company of family, friends, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter.

Born on September 30, 1900, Ms. Lassiter has lived through economic depressions, segregation, world wars, and 20 of the 44 United States Presidents. She is the granddaughter of slaves and remembers when women and blacks couldn't vote. During the Great Depression, she stood in line to get rations of meat.

Ms. Lassiter has lived in West Philadelphia since she moved from North Carolina with her husband, Walter, in 1926. Walter died of leukemia fifty years ago, when she was 61.

She attributes her long life to the fact that she didn't drink or smoke, and her faith; she spent 70 years as a deaconess in her West Philly church. Ms. Lassiter isn't the only person in her family to live a long life; one of her brothers lived to be 100 years old.

WHERE:

Penn Center for Rehabilitation and Care
36th and Chestnut Street (on the northwest corner)
Philadelphia, PA 19104

WHEN:

Friday, September 30, 2011
10:00am

10:10am	Singing “Happy Birthday”
10:15 – 10:30	Birthday cake with 111 candles

WHO:

Ms. Willie Lassiter, Penn Center for Rehabilitation and Care resident
Penn Center for Rehabilitation and Care staff and administrators
Mayor Nutter

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.

111 Years Young, Third-Oldest Pennsylvanian to Celebrate Birthday at Penn Center for Rehabilitation and Care

Mayor Nutter Scheduled to Attend Birthday Festivities