Honoring LW Centenarians

This is one in an occasional series of stories profiling some of LW’s most august residents, those who have reached the enviable age of 100 years or more. The series is running in connection with the Golden Age Foundation’s centenarian event on April 20, which will celebrate these milestones. In most cases, a family member has written the stories.

by Jo Maldonado and Judy Warner

special to the LW Weekly

Clifford Pedersen will be 105 years old in July. The World War II veteran has lived in Mutual 2 for 35 years. He grew up in Massachusetts, and married and raised a family there. After his first wife died at 56, he moved to California to be close to his two daughters. Cliff met his second wife, Georgia, in Leisure World, and they were married for 20 years. He is the father of four children and has five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. His advice to them is to get advanced education, and he is concerned about enough jobs for their futures. Childhood memories include listening to a friend’s radio, which was an exciting new invention, the first electronic device that brought the world into people’s living rooms. Cliff and his friend listened to the Yankees playing in the World Series as Babe Ruth hit a home run. And they tuned in as Charles Lindbergh landed his plane near Paris after flying solo across the Atlantic in 1927. Among his most vivid memories was when he was 6 years old and out playing ball. In the middle of the game, he doubled up with pain. The doctor was called. He came to the house, wrapped Cliff in a blanket, put him in the back seat of his car and took him to the hospital. The doctor then parked his car, went inside and performed an appendectomy. It turns out Cliff ’s appendix had ruptured, and he spent a month in the hospital.

Playing hockey in high school was Cliff ’s dream as a teenager. He saved his money and bought the most expensive skates he could afford. He excelled on the team but his hockey career was abruptly ended when someone stole the skates.

Cliff never backed away from hard work. As a 10-yearold, Cliff worked on a farm after school and summers. He worked nine hours a day, six days a week at $1.25 a day. He made $7.50 a week, gave $5 to his mother and had $2.50 for himself.

After graduating from high school, Cliff continued to work on the farm full time.

When the farmer failed to pay Cliff for two weeks, Cliff told him that he would have to leave and find a new job.

The following Monday, Cliff took a train into Boston and went to an employment agency, where he was hired on the spot to work as an office boy at an insurance agency.

When WWII started, Cliff wanted to be a pilot, but he is color blind.

As a testament to his tenacity, he took the test five times but could not pass it. Nonetheless, he joined the Army and served in the Mediterranean.

He remembers crossing the Atlantic from New York to Ireland on the Queen Mary.

A little known fact was that the ship hit a mine sweeper on that voyage and cut the mine sweeper in half.

They didn’t want the Germans to know, and it was said to be the best kept secret of the war.

Several years ago, Cliff was part of the Honor Flight Society, which went to Washington, D.C., for a weekend to see the WWII Memorial and others.

A highlight of his trip was meeting Sen. Bob Dole. He was also very impressed with Fort McHenry.

After the war, Cliff attended Boston College but had to finish up his bachelor’s degree at night since he and his wife had their first child.

He started as a clerk at a food company, and they hired him later as a purchasing agent because of his college education.

Throughout his life, Cliff was athletic.

He especially loved to ski and jog. He often ran 12 10K races a year. He still rides an exercise bike to stay fit.

He values his mental clarity and does puzzles and word games daily.

He volunteered at Care Connections, an adult daycare center that was held at Redeemer Lutheran church in Leisure World after his second wife, Georgia, passed away from Alzheimer’s in 2007. He continued his volunteer service up until COVID-19 hit and caused the daycare center to close. Cliff received the Presidential Award for his years of volunteer service. Although macular degeneration has taken most of his eyesight, Cliff describes himself as content and happy. He has technology that helps with his vision as well as a machine that reads books to him. He fixes his own meals and is conscious of eating healthy.

Reflecting back on his life, Cliff wishes he had shown his mother more appreciation. “Women in those days were the real workers,” he said. His mother washed clothes by hand, baked bread and worked long hours each day raising five children. His father died at 72, but his mother lived to be 84. His five siblings all lived well into their 80s. He never met his grandparents who lived in Canada and Denmark.

Currently, Cliff is a participant at the Easter Seals Senior Center, located in Brea, thanks to his special friend, Edna Santos.

He met Edna several years ago when she was running the adult daycare center, and Cliff was a volunteer.

They have remained friends, and when Edna began working at Easter Seals, she suggested that Cliff come as a participant instead of a volunteer.

Cliff has met many wonderful caring people, both at Care Connections and more recently at Easter Seals.

Cliff says the best thing about volunteering is the friends that you make along the way.

That is certainly the case for him.

Happy 105th birthday to Clifford Pedersen.