By Mary Beth Spalding
Staff Writer

Ocelia Conklin

ROCHESTER — Ocelia Conklin, Rochester, turned 100 on Monday, Feb. 6, and received a surprise visit from Rochester Mayor Ted Denton at her birthday party at the Fulton County Community Resource Center & Council on Aging on Pontiac Street.

Denton presented Conklin with an official city proclamation, declaring the date Ocelia Conklin Day.

The proclamation will be read at the Thursday, Feb. 9, meeting of the Board of Works and Safety for permanent inclusion in the minutes for city records.

Conklin gave Denton a hug and told him how honored she felt to have him pay her a visit.

“I never thought I’d meet you,” she told him, smiling.

“Well, I never thought I would meet you!” he replied.

Conklin said she weighed just 3.5 pounds when she was born in LaPorte a century ago. “I’m a miracle,” she laughed. “My mother would carry me around on a pillow.”

Conklin, a former beautician, said she enjoys pretty good health and is a regular at the community center, where she even still likes to play a game of volleyball. She said her physician told her he wouldn’t be surprised if she’s celebrating another birthday five years from now.

Her secret to longevity?

“I just love everybody,” Conklin said.

Her niece and goddaughter, Dixie Geddes, who traveled from the state of Washington to help Conklin mark her 100th birthday, seconded the thought. Geddes said that growing up, she remembers Conklin’s home as a wonderful place to be because of Conklin’s happy nature.

The birthday party on Monday also included a biscuits-and-gravy breakfast, bingo and cake with the many friends Conklin has made at the center over the years.

“Whatever Ocelia wants, Ocelia gets,” said Lisa Byers, the center’s activity director. “At 100, she deserves it.”

Rochester Mayor Ted Denton made a surprise visit to Ocelia Conklin, Rochester, at her 100th birthday celebration Monday, Feb. 6. Denton presented Conklin with an official city proclamation, declaring the date Ocelia Conklin Day.