ROANOKE — All her life, Venus Tucker has enjoyed traveling, reading, going to church and meeting people. The longtime Roanoke resident calls it “a blessing from the Lord.”
And now, as she turned 106 on Thursday, she’s become a celebrity who enjoys talking about growing up in the country and the “good life” she’s had. She has more than 2,000 birthday cards to prove her popularity.
Tucker’s name and face have been featured recently in local and national media — CNN, “Good Morning America,” the Washington Post and Facebook — since the Our Lady of the Valley Retirement Community started soliciting birthday cards for her.
Originally, the facility sought 106 cards, one for each year of Tucker’s life, but after that was exceeded, the staff raised the number to 1,006. Two days before her birthday, nearly 1,300 cards from all across the U.S. plus Costa Rica, in addition to flowers, had arrived at the community where Tucker has lived for just over three years.
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On Wednesday, she was surprised with a meal of fried chicken and Dr Pepper from a few of her fellow members of the Maple Street Baptist Church.
Tucker is the oldest of the approximately 130 residents at the facility, said Administrator Jackie Holton, adding that two other residents recently became centenarians.
Holton said the staff thought it would be fun to solicit cards since the COVID-19 pandemic limited having a big party for Tucker. They didn’t expect the more than 2,000 cards that filled a wagon the evening before her birthday.
“Mrs. Tucker is a joy to everyone who meets her, and we are thankful she lives here,” Holton said.
During a small patio outing with some residents and staff Thursday, Tucker received the cards and a letter from Congress.
Earlier in the week, she read a few cards, saying she was so thankful others were sharing with her. If it weren’t for the pandemic, Tucker said, she would be celebrating her birthday by visiting younger, sicker residents at the senior community in the Gainsboro neighborhood of Roanoke.
She can’t recall having any serious illnesses, only remembering “my mama said I had the pneumonia when I was about 3.”
Wearing a face mask, she admits to missing the closeness of others. She likes to read and follow the news and plans to vote in the November election.
“I’ve had a beautiful life,” said Tucker, crediting it to her faith in God and being obedient. She moved to Roanoke when her late husband, Wesley, came with the railroad and is amazed that she’s reached 106.
“I’m old,” she said matter-of-factly during an interview on the patio at Our Lady of the Valley, where she uses a wheelchair to maneuver. Her father was 98 when he died, and she doesn’t know of any other family members to outlive him. Her only surviving sibling, Dorothy Moore, is 96 and lives in Greensboro, N.C. They stay in contact by telephone.
Tucker talks about obeying her parents and other adults as she picked cotton and beans or plowed fields in Alabama. One of her fondest memories is daily delivering butter and a cooler of milk to elderly neighbors. “I was little and could barely drag the cooler above the ground.” But, she recalls, the neighbors were always glad to see her.
She also talks about helping others and being faithful to God by praying and serving in the church, especially during the years she worked various jobs, including at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant and as an insurance agent before working at the Virginia Employment Commission, where she got to know a lot of people and spoke her mind.
“The Lord’s just been good to me,” said Tucker, adding she’s been fortunate to travel and her favorite place is the Virgin Islands.