PORT ST. LUCIE \u2014 Ruth DiToro marks 100 years with memories, manners and gratitude. You would never know by looking at or listening to her that she is her age.<\/p>\n
Ruth DiToro, who recently turned 100, has seen the world change in ways she never expected, but she still holds tightly to the lessons she learned as a child.<\/p>\n
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, DiToro moved to Staten Island, New York, when she was 12 and lived there for more than 80 years before relocating to Florida in her early 90s. Among her favorite memories are her marriage and the birth of her daughter, whom she planned to celebrate her birthday over lunch.<\/p>\n
Asked what has surprised her most over the past century, DiToro pointed to technology \u2014 especially the cellphone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not like the cellphone,\u201d she said, adding that it \u201ctook over the world.\u201d Smiling, she added that sometimes it catches her at inopportune times. She said she worries that people, especially younger generations, are distracted and less courteous than they once were.<\/p>\n
Courtesy is something DiToro said she learned early from her mother, whom she described as the most influential person in her life. She still remembers being about 3 years old and being told to say \u201cplease,\u201d \u201cthank you\u201d and \u201cyou\u2019re welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
That lesson stayed with her.<\/p>\n
Her advice to younger people is simple: learn manners, show respect, be honest and do the best possible job at whatever they choose to pursue.<\/p>\n
DiToro, who describes herself as 100% Swedish, said she enjoys Italian food, though she now has to be careful about what she eats for health reasons. As for the secret to a long life, she credits diet, attitude, faith and good fortune.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s in the diet,\u201d she said, mentioning extra-virgin olive oil and garlic. \u201cAnd if you don\u2019t put anything into your life, you\u2019ll get nothing out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Harbor Place, DiToro said she has made many friends and stays active by going to the gym, exercising, walking around the building and even playing bingo or poker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get older, it\u2019s a place to be,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s always something to do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT ST. LUCIE \u2014 Ruth DiToro marks 100 years with memories, manners and gratitude. You would never know…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172,563],"class_list":["post-266247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news","tag-st_lucie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}