Two Rancho Bernardo women celebrate 100th birthdays

Casa de las Campanas recently celebrated the birthdays of two residents who have passed the century mark.

Pauline Hoover and Mabel Sullivan were honored during Casa’s monthly party to celebrate its residents’ birthdays and anniversaries.

Hoover, who turned 100 on Jan. 2, is one of Casa’s original residents, having moved there almost 28 years ago, shortly after it opened.

The Grandview, Washington, native said she learned about Casa through an advertisement in a publication for teachers. Casa de las Campanas was originally created as a retirement facility for those with careers in education. She was an elementary school teacher and principal who spent most of her career in Oakland.

“I enjoyed the children very much,” she said, adding she often taught the same children for two years at a time, mostly in first and second grade.

Hoover said she and her husband, Charles — who went by the nickname Ray — wanted to retire in a facility that provided life care, which is why they chose Casa in Rancho Bernardo. He was a general contractor.

The couple was married for 60 years, until Ray’s death in 2002. She said they met in Washington, but did not marry until after she moved to Oakland in 1940. She relocated to be near her parents, who moved there a few months earlier to help her newly widowed brother care for his son.

Hoover said her hobbies over the years included reading, crafts and exercising. She still plays bridge.

As for reaching this milestone, Hoover said, “I can’t say it feels much different than 99.” Regarding the key to her longevity, she said, “The only thing I can think of is that I never smoked and I don’t drink much alcohol. I wonder if that made a difference.”

Sullivan, who turned 100 on Jan. 27, has lived in Rancho Bernardo for 42 years and at Casa since 2010.

The Leon, Iowa, native said she moved to California after marrying her husband, Donald. Though they knew each other in high school and were friends for many years, their romance developed much later.

She said they got married 10 days after he returned from serving in the Army during World War II. While friends prior to his going off to war — “in those days we did not date much,” she said — Donald did not propose until returning because, “My husband felt if anything happened to him, if he came back crippled, he did not want me (obligated).”

They moved to Fullerton 70 years ago because of his job running a printing press that created business forms. She was a bank secretary in Des Moines prior to their marriage and later was a secretary for the Anaheim school district. In their late 50s, they decided to retire.

“(Rancho Bernardo) was a small town at the time ... but it changed,” she said. For several years after moving to RB she worked at the Joslyn Senior Center.

Sullivan said she and her husband — who died 15 years ago — traveled a lot during their 54 years of marriage.

“They were not planned trips,” she said, explaining they just drove wherever they felt like going. “We especially liked Canada and went to the East Coast a couple times. We loved it and got to see anything (we wished).”

Her hobbies included sewing, knitting and reading.

As for turning 100, Sullivan said, “it’s just another day,” adding many people have asked her the key to a long life, but she doesn’t know the answer.