Alma Oustatcher of Atlantic Beach turns 109 and says happiness is the reason

The key to living a long, meaningful life is quite simple, Alma "Algy" Oustatcher revealed Sunday during her 109th birthday party.

"If you're happy, that's the secret," Oustatcher said. "And the family keeps me happy."

Indeed, Oustatcher smiled wide Sunday as she was surrounded by about 20 family members — her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and more at the New Nautilus Hotel in Atlantic Beach, the retirement community where she lives.

Oustatcher is one of 5,666 centenarians in New York State, according to the World Population Review. The nonprofit Gerontology Research Group, based in Los Angeles, lists the oldest person in the world as a woman from the   Un  ited Kingdom who is 116 years old.

Guests took turns embracing Oustatcher, kneeling down to meet her at eye level — she sat in a wheelchair next to a table stacked with boxes of Little Bites coffee cakes, her favorite snack — and embraced her. They spoke into her right ear, where her hearing aid was connected.

"People say luck, people say whatever, I say miracle. One hundred and nine is amazing," her son, Ira, 79, said in an interview. "She is bright, alert, has you laughing. She's just very special."

Oustatcher pushed back on having a party, her son, Kal, 82, said in an interview. But the family insisted. 

"We make a party for her every year," Kal said. "We always had parties for everybody's birthday. We have a big family, so we always have a lot of parties. That's what you live for."

Born on March 15, 1917, in the Bronx, Oustatcher grew up during the Great Depression. She met her late husband, Jack, at a local youth group, and they married before World War II. Eventually they bought a bungalow in Long Beach, where the family spent summers. 

Eric Oustatcher, 49, of Teaneck, New Jersey, one of her grandchildren, said Oustatcher has a "sarcastic, Jewish" sense of humor. He's grateful his son has gotten to know his grandmother and, in turn, a "glimpse into the 1900s."

"Anyone who was in her life, she was always there to take care of them," he said.

Her sharp wit was clear in an interaction with Daniel Winston, one of her great-grandchildren. Winston, 25, of Manhattan, knelt down and wished his "bubbe" a happy birthday. Oustatcher asked him how old she was now.

"You're 109," he said.

She didn't skip a beat in correcting him. "39," she said.

At one point during the party, a performer wielding a guitar walked in to offer Oustatcher a singing telegram. She tapped her feet and waved her arm to the acoustic rendition of The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There."

"I walk with my head held high, and enjoy life," she said. 

"I have a great family," she added, gesturing to the room. "You see this family?"

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.