Woman turns 112, making her 26th oldest on Earth
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

Olivia Patricia "Pat" Thomas

Beautiful. That is how 112-year-old Olivia Patricia "Pat" Thomas described her birthday on June 29.

The milestone makes her the 26th oldest person in the world, 12th in the country and second in New York.

The bouquet of pink roses, the enormous white frosted cake and the people who sang "Happy Birthday" were all beautiful in Thomas' eyes. A former resident of Snyder, Thomas' neighbor, Frank Kelly, has been her caregiver. He said he received notice that Thomas has been validated a living "supercentenarian."

The title is bestowed by the Gerontology Research Group, and Thomas is now officially part of an exclusive group.

A supercentenarian has to be at least 110 years old. Of the 80 recognized today, 73 are women. The oldest person on the list is 114.

Thomas lives at St. Francis of Williamsville where a party was thrown on Friday to celebrate her birthday.

"She is very happy for the nice recognition they gave her," Kelly said.

Thomas was the center of attention as members of the media took her photograph and recorded her blowing out her candles - not 112, just three, with the numbers 1-1-2.

For 54 years, Kelly's family lived next door to Thomas and her husband Frederick, who has since passed away. Kelly has fond memories of his children referring to the Thomas couple as "grandma" and "grandpa."

Thomas was born June 29, 1895 in Iowa. She met her future husband in grade school, and they were married in 1923. They moved to Western New York in 1946 when Frederick was named a professor of engineering at the University of Buffalo.

According to Kelly, Thomas has always been an avid gardener. In 1952 she planted two flowering crabapple trees that resulted in an additional 300 trees being planted at the Main Street campus.

At home she tended to her yard all day, even placing a sign on her front door that read, "I'm in the garden."

When presented with the bouquet of pink roses she leaned over to Kelly, and reminded him to get them into water immediately.

Given that Thomas is the 26th oldest person, she surprises people. Kelly said the only medicine she takes is an occasional aspirin.

Her social worker, Lucy Coleman, agreed, saying that Thomas still wheels herself around the facility.

"She is enthusiastic, very positive and outgoing," Coleman said, adding that Thomas enjoys talking with the residents and staff at St. Francis.

Among her favorite topics are, of course, gardening, and also fashion. Coleman said Thomas constantly compliments people on their attire.

She lived on her own in her Snyder home before moving to St. Francis in 2004.

An active Amherst resident, Thomas is a member and past president of the Amherst Garden Club, a member of the Federated Garden Club of New York State District 8, Herb Society of America and UB Women's Club, a life member of the National Council of Garden Clubs and an honorary member of the Smallwood Garden Club.

Kelly said when he started going through the process to have Thomas validated as a supercentenarian, she discovered a passport that had stamps of her traveling around the world three times.

The most popular destinations for Thomas and her husband were England and France; they would always start there Kelly said. After landing, Frederick would buy a car, they would drive where they wanted and then he would sell it before leaving.

The Gerontology Research Group updated its list on June 19, adding Thomas for the first time. The organization requires documentation and researches claims of age. For information, visit www. grg. org.