105-year-old Richland woman shares perspective on a long life

RICHLAND, Wash. — They say that age is just a number, and for one woman in Richland, this couldn’t be more true. Carolyn Fleischauer has seen a lot in her 105 years, and we spoke to her to bring you a community highlight.

Carolyn lives at Brookdale Torbett in Richland, a senior living facility. While she didn’t give me any secrets for living a long life, she’s more than willing to share her perspective. She said, to get where she is, you need some understanding.

I asked how she thought she reached 105 years old.

“I don’t think about age,” Carolyn responded.

Carolyn stayed cheeky with her responses. Apple Valley News Now staff asked about her life, and things she used to do, but she wasn’t sharing any of her century-plus-long secrets, nor her family recipes.

“We’d open a can of beans and heat it,” she joked with a smile.

“My little lady's such a little firecracker. She's just a little happy little bundle of joy. We love having her in the community,” said Leslie Hernandez, the Clare Bridge Coordinator at Brookdale Torbett.

I caught up with Carolyn, and her daughter Carol, about how it feels to be in the triple digits. It’s not only a blessing for her, but also for her family.

“It's amazing. It's totally amazing, and for her to be interested in the family, and family is all-important to her, and friendships, and just to have her here, it's just amazing and wonderful,” expressed Carol.

Born in Boston on Nov. 2, 1918, just more than a week before WWI came to a close, the most important thing Carolyn said to do, is to be understanding. Whether that be in a relationship, in a job, in school, or just in life.

“Understanding others and what they're trying to say,” said Carolyn. “Understanding is a big thing.”

She definitely has her sense of humor intact. Another thing she has is many strong women in her family.

“You have a lot of women in your family,” said Carol to her mother. “I think they're all very strong women.”

As Carol said, it’s a family with lots of women. Carolyn has one daughter, two granddaughters, three great granddaughters and one great grandson.

Carolyn tells me her mom and dad were doctors. She followed the path of helping people, becoming a school teacher. Her daughter Carol taught too, and her daughter Natalie teaches at a local Tri-Cities high school.

Carolyn said she doesn’t get out too much anymore, but she gets on great with the staff at Brookdale Torbett.

“This lady just blows my mind,” said Hernandez. “She blows everybody's mind here. Whenever we walk around, and we'd see all of these other people, they ask her, ‘How old are you?' and she's like, ‘I'm 105 and I'm still kicking.’ My goodness.”

She’s lived through much, for her to end up in Richland. While there have been bumps and bruises along the way, she said some of the real challenges of being 105 also include needing to be understanding.

When asked what the good parts about being that age are, she gestured to the interview camera and laughed.

“Doing this, I guess!”

Carolyn likes watching the news, and loves her Mariners.

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