{"id":494109,"date":"2026-10-13T00:48:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T00:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/494109\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T00:48:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T00:48:08","slug":"incredible-lives-shared-and-celebrated-as-10-centenarians-mark-birthdays-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/494109\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Incredible lives\u2019 shared and celebrated as 10 centenarians mark birthdays \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 10 centenarians \u2014 yes, 10 \u2014 recently celebrating birthdays at Rowntree Gardens<\/a> in Stanton were dubbed \u201cGolden Age Royalty\u201d by Kerri Clark, chief operating officer of the senior living community.<\/p>\n

If that is so, then June Barthol is the queen of the castle.<\/p>\n

Barthol, who turned 109 on June 4 (you read that right), is among a cherished group of Rowntree Gardens residents who turned 100 or older over the past year and were honored with a centennial celebration on Friday.<\/p>\n

She was among nine women and one man, ranging in age from 100 to 109, who sat at the festively adorned head table in front of a gathering of Rowntree residents, staff and family members totaling about 200.<\/p>\n

Their life stories stretched from wartime Europe to hospitals, farms and California classrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve all lived incredible lives, raised families, gained so much wisdom, and we\u2019re just so glad that we get to share in this season of life with you,\u201d Clark said. \u201cTo the families and loved ones of our community members, we thank you for sharing them with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

To the quintessential question asked of any centenarian \u2014 what are the keys to living for an entire century \u2014 Barthol immediately responded, \u201cI stay active. And if there is an opportunity to do something, I do it.\u201d Activities include exercise classes and craft fairs.<\/p>\n

\"TenTen centenarians, whose ages range from 100 to 109, celebrate milestone birthdays at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)<\/p>\n

A mother of two with seven grandchildren and five great\u2011grandchildren, Barthol maneuvers her motorized wheelchair with the command of a seasoned driver, turning on a dime, moving backward and forward with ease.<\/p>\n

Barthol was born on a California farm, the youngest of six, with some older siblings born in the 1800s. She was an operating\u2011room nurse, Red Cross worker and spent years as a Girl Scout leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so lucky,\u201d said Barthol\u2019s granddaughter, Debbi Reeser, of being able to spend time with her grandmother. Reeser said she visits when she can and decorates Barthol\u2019s living space for Christmas. \u201cI tell everybody too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"June<\/p>\n

June Barthol attempts to blow out her candle after turning 109 years old. She celebrates with 9 other centenarians at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.
\n(Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Marilyn<\/p>\n

Marilyn Lindley, 101, left, and Soula Thomas, 102, smile as they read a framed birthday tribute. Ten centenarians celebrated their milestone birthdays at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.
\n (Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ernie<\/p>\n

Ernie Maunders, 101, left, laughs at the questions that Gina Climer asks and Marilyn Lindley, 101, answers during a birthday celebration held at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.
\n(Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Marilyn<\/p>\n

Marilyn Lindley, 101, left, watches as Soula Thomas, 102, blows out her candle during a birthday celebration for ten centenarians at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.
\n(Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Family<\/p>\n

Family and friends take photos as they help to celebrate ten centenarians milestone birthdays at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.
\n(Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ernie<\/p>\n

Ernie Maunders, 101, laughs during a joint birthday celebration of ten centenarians at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.
\n(Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Jeanne<\/p>\n

Jeanne Totaro, 101, was one of ten centenarians celebrating milestone birthdays at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"June<\/p>\n

June Barthol celebrates turning 109 at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton on Friday, October 9, 2026.
\n(Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 8<\/p>\n

June Barthol attempts to blow out her candle after turning 109 years old. She celebrates with 9 other centenarians at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.
\n(Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Other honorees included:<\/p>\n

Soula Thomas, 102, born in New York to Greek parents. She lived in Greece during World War II and assisted Allied pilots as part of the Greek resistance.<\/p>\n

Nancy Willingham, 102, an accomplished violinist, earned a master\u2019s degree in home economics from the University of Kentucky. Willingham created recipes for the Consumer Rice Board and played tennis into her 80s.<\/p>\n

Ernest Maunders, 101, the lone man in the group, was a Morse\u2011code transcriber for the Royal Air Force before immigrating to America on the Queen Mary.<\/p>\n

Marilyn Lindley, 101, returned to school after raising her children and became a teacher.<\/p>\n

Josephine Marshall, 100, raised three children as a homemaker in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

Carol Langley, 100, a mother of three, worked more than 20 years as a nurse in hospitals and doctors\u2019 offices.<\/p>\n

Dorothy Frechen, 100, taught high\u2011school math before moving into medical\u2011field work. She was married 53 years and raised five children.<\/p>\n

Jeanne Tataro, 100, moved west from Long Island, New York, worked at Prudential, and has two sons with multiple grandchildren and great\u2011grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Helen Gilmore, 100, was born in Nebraska and spent her career teaching elementary school.<\/p>\n

Multiple prerecorded video tributes were played during the celebration, highlighting the centenarians\u2019 personalities, longevity, hobbies and family impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 10 centenarians \u2014 yes, 10 \u2014 recently celebrating birthdays at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton were dubbed \u201cGolden…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,7,179,23,611],"class_list":["post-494109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-california","tag-community","tag-local-news","tag-orange-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}