WESTFIELD — Pearl Degray, Westfield’s oldest resident, celebrated her 103rd birthday on March 12 and told the Westfield News her secret to the long life she’s living.
“Hard work,” Degray said bluntly. “I never sat around. If you see my apartment or my room right now, it’s as neat as a pin. As old as I am, I’m fully dressed. I don’t lay around all day. I eat a good breakfast. I like my sweets, but I also like my fruit. I’m a nondrinker. I smoked for years, we all smoked. But it got so expensive and everything I couldn’t afford cigarettes, so I finally quit. I said I can’t afford that.”
