One month shy of her 113th birthday, the oldest person in Canada is sharing some of her well earned wisdom.
The country’s oldest living woman, Margaret Romans, was born in Latvia in 1912 and moved to Montreal in 1947 and says she’s thankful to be here. What keeps her going? Gratitude, curiosity, and always looking forward, she says.
“I say thank you God for bringing me and my family to this good country,” she told Global News in an interview on Tuesday at her seniors’ residence.
Romans recalls only positive memories from her life back in Latvia until the Soviet Union occupation in the 1940s. That’s when Romans and her late husband left for Canada — one of her favourite memories, she says.
She worked as a community art teacher at the YMCA and her husband, Heinrich Romans, worked as an engineer. Her family says her love for teaching and thirst for knowledge are still her strongest traits.
Romans’ family told Global News she’s still very interested in knowing what’s going on in her community, her country and around the world.
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Her grand nephew, Juris Terauds, said his great aunt is always looking forward to tomorrow.
“Whether it’s with us, the family, the kids, friends,” he says, “or even what’s going on in the news. She can’t read like she used to, so she listens to the radio. But she’s always looking to know what’s coming up.”
Romans’ advice on how to live a long life is simple: be curious about the world around you.
She advises the younger generation to never hold on to a grudge, and says learning is the first step to understanding.
“Study, study and study. Learn, learn and learn. What you have in your head, no one can take that away,” the 112-year-old woman said.
Romans plans to celebrate her 113th birthday next month, on March 16, with friends and family.
She says she’ll toast to another year with her favourite drink, a classic martini.
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