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Daniel Stromer turns 100 on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of the Stromer Family<\/p>\n
Daniel Stromer\u2019s life has been anything but ordinary, yet one of its most standout qualities is this: He\u2019s lived longer than the very city in which he now resides. .<\/p>\n
The Army veteran and decades-long firefighter was born in 1926 \u2014 nearly 40 years before Pembroke Pines was incorporated as a city \u2014 and turns 100 this year, a milestone reflected in a life rich with history.<\/p>\n
Stromer came of age in the Great Depression, installed telephone lines amid German gunfire during his World War II service, and climbed the ranks of the New York Fire Department for nearly 30 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough days,\u201d he told the Pembroke Pines News from his Century Village home, where he\u2019s lived since the early 1990s. \u201cAlways, I was a hustler.\u201d<\/p>\n
A hard-knock life<\/p>\n
Stromer, who celebrates his 100th birthday on Monday, Feb. 23, landed his first job as a Brooklyn shoe shiner at 5 years old \u2014 after his father died from appendicitis \u2014 becoming what he called \u201cthe man of the house\u201d overnight.<\/p>\n
Having to forego school for work, he\u2019d set up outside busy clothing stores and hiring halls to shine dozens of shoes all day for a nickel each or a quart of milk as payment.<\/p>\n
To make sure he and his family always had something to eat, he\u2019d also work cafeteria houses while well below the employment age limit \u201cbecause that\u2019s where the food was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMany times for dinner all I had was mashed potatoes or rice and milk,\u201d said the centenarian. \u201cI never played sports because as a kid, I was always working.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019d eventually re-enroll in school, but never walk across the graduation stage after being drafted by the Army for World War II service in 1944, three months shy of getting his diploma.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell you, the Army was the best thing for me. I felt as if I was on vacation,\u201d said Stromer, who recalls his younger years as \u201cathletic\u201d and \u201cfilled with a tremendous amount of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stromer, who passed his basic training exams with flying colors, was known to sneak out of the training grounds and \u201cgo partying all night,\u201d says his daughter, Michele Stromer.<\/p>\n
Most of his service was spent as an artillery lineman in the south of France, where he\u2019d jump off moving vehicles and scale telephone poles to maintain battlefield communications, often working while under enemy fire.<\/p>\n
He spent his 19th birthday crossing the Rhine River from France to enter Germany, just one month ahead of the Western Allies\u2019 advance into Nazi territory through the same route.<\/p>\n
\u201cI slept in the snow … because I was out all day and night laying telephone wire. I didn\u2019t have a stationary place to go with heat,\u201d Stromer said. \u201cI had to carry my own food because I was always moving. … All I could remember is I was always, always cold.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel Stromer served as a firefighter in the New York Fire Department for over 26 years. Courtesy of the Stromer family Work ethic, awards<\/p>\n
Stromer\u2019s life was marked by public service, even decades after his military service.<\/p>\n
The veteran joined the New York Fire Department in 1953, where he served for over 26 years and was eventually elected as the Uniformed Firefighters Association\u2019s Brooklyn \u201ctrustee,\u201d representing the borough during union and NYFD negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to lose about six firemen a year on the job. Back in those days, it was quite dangerous. I never saw a (face) mask until five years in,\u201d Stromer said. \u201cI loved the fire department. Very interesting, you\u2019re rescuing people all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
While fighting fires full time, he also ran a luncheonette and worked as a waiter at high-end New York restaurants, where he\u2019d meet the secret to his long life: His wife of 63 years.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Antoinette) was a waitress and I was a waiter. … We have different personalities, but we think alike. And we\u2019re very, very close,\u201d said Stromer, who considers his wife his \u201cbest friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Together, the couple has raised six kids and stood by each other throughout some of Stromer\u2019s biggest accomplishments.<\/p>\n
In 2001, nearly 60 years after being drafted, his alma mater sent him an honorary high school diploma along with a 1944 letter he wrote to the school while stationed abroad, inquiring about how he could finish his studies.<\/p>\n
In 2013, he was decorated as a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor for his WWII service and celebrated on the flight home from the ceremony with a water salute from Broward County Fire Rescue.<\/p>\n
Daniel Stromer, second from right, celebrates his 100th birthday with the Pembroke Pines Fire Department. Courtesy of the Stromer Family On turning 100<\/p>\n
This year, Stromer was gifted a trip down memory lane by the Pembroke Pines Fire Department, which let him sit in the cab of a firetruck as he did decades ago.<\/p>\n
Dozens of close friends and family also dropped in for a surprise party ahead of his 100th birthday on Feb. 23.<\/p>\n
His secret to living a long life? He says it\u2019s all owed to the advice he\u2019s followed: \u201cDon\u2019t drink and have a good wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll never forget that night (I met Antoinette),\u201d Stromer said. \u201cWe\u2019re a very good marriage. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever had an argument. We get along very, very well.\u201d<\/p>\n