Eugene Elizabeth Earle of North Amityville celebrates 107th birthday
The birthday girl wore a crown and sash draped over her right shoulder that read “Birthday Queen” as family and friends serenaded her with “Happy Birthday.”
Seated at the kitchen table of her North Amityville home Saturday afternoon, Eugene Elizabeth Earle leaned in to blow out three candles on her yellow cake that spelled out: 1-0-7.
“Even if I never have another birthday, I will remember this one,” she said.
Earle didn’t expect any special celebration when she officially turned 107 Friday. That didn’t stop her daughter, Raquel Weekes, whom she lives with, from surprising her with a two-day celebration and inviting family from as far as North Carolina and Ohio.
You only turn 107 once.
Surrounded by flowers, purple and yellow balloons, and a large “Happy Birthday” banner hanging from a staircase, Earle posed for photos with family members and shared stories from a remarkable life that spans back to the original world war.
A woman of faith, Earle credits her health and good fortune to God — as well as the herbs that grow in her garden.
“I’m alive today because God put me here and he’s watching on my life 107 years,” she said.
Earle spent the majority of her life in Panama where she was born on March 24, 1916. She met her husband while working at the Panama Canal Commissary that sold groceries and household goods for military members at a U.S. base.
She said the most exciting time in her life was when she married her husband in 1955. The couple, who would meet for lunch when Earle worked at the commissary, remained together until her husband died in 1984.
Weekes convinced her mother to move to the United States and live with her in 2004, only after her mother had outlived most of her family and close friends in Panama. Earle managed a real estate property in Panama until she was in her 80s.
Weekes said her mother has always been “strong-willed” and “determined.”
“Because of that she accomplished a whole lot,” she said.
Weekes said it has been a “blessing” to have her mother by her side for so many years. Weekes credited her mom’s healthy eating habits and “God’s grace” for the extraordinary longevity.
Earle was an avid swimmer throughout much of her life. She told the story of when she was a teenager and skipped school one day to go to the beach. She encountered a hammerhead shark swimming beside her.
“The voice within me said keep still and I did that and he swam away,” she said.
Derrick Robinson, a retired Suffolk County Supreme Court judge, played “Amazing Grace” and “Happy Birthday" on the saxophone during the celebration — the only two songs in his repertoire. Robinson said he lived for many years across the street and their families became very close.
Earle was a talented, self-taught musician who could play guitar and piano. Robinson said Earle inspired him to learn the saxophone in the past year.
“Miss Eugene, my inspiration,” Robinson said after playing his final song. “It’s all because of you.”
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
