Holy Trinity parishioner celebrates 100th birthday

It’s a noteworthy feat to live for 100 years, especially when still feeling young at heart, said the family of Grace Bucking, a former Valley Streamer and now Lynbrook resident for the last 12 years.

The 65-year member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Valley Stream is sharp, witty, and full of life, explained her family. After celebrating her 100th birthday on June 18, Bucking was later honored with a party on June 22 at Holy Trinity’s parish hall. Several friends and family members sang “Happy Birthday,” and gave speeches in a heartfelt show of love.

Bucking laughed and smiled, with such happiness in her eyes. “I never thought much about age, but I always enjoyed birthdays,” she joked.

As the birthday candles were aglow in the dim lights, Bucking surveyed the faces surrounding her. Undoubtedly emotional, tears looked as if they could drop from several people’s eyes. “I am having a wonderful time,” she said.

Bucking recalled entering grade school during World War I, which began only a few years after she was born in Brooklyn in 1911. The oldest of four, she is 20 years older than her youngest sibling, Joan Tack. Her late brothers, Dudley and Carl, had fought in World War II. The first world war evoked widespread panic on one fearful day. “It was the wee hours of the morning,” she recalled, “and an arsenal had blew up in New Jersey, which made us get out of bed.” She was afraid that the Germans were coming, she added.

She attended Girls Commercial High School — re-named Prospect Heights High School before it closed in 2006. Before the roaring 1920s dance crazes like the Charleston fizzled, she entered business school, and landed her first job at an insurance company.

Bucking moved to Valley Stream in the mid-1930s. While the Great Depression hit hard, it did not stunt Bucking’s growth. She began work as a secretary at Frederic R. Wiedersum Architects in Valley Stream, now known as Wiedersum Associates Architects in Hauppauge. Wiedersum is known for building Valley Stream Central High School in 1928.

All in the family

“She is a living archive,” said Bucking’s nephew, Carl Jr. “She’s a link to my family, the past history around here, and all the things that occurred in New York all these years ago.”

Carl remembers visiting his “Aunt Grace” on Saturday afternoons. His late father,
Carl Sr., would help Bucking with different projects around the house, and the family would eat lunch together. Bucking also tracked the family’s history, and is recognized as the “living link” to his late father, Carl said. “She understands what it is to live life,” he added.

Bucking said she never thought there was a secret to living 100 years, but she has always had the support of the three F’s: faith, family and friends.

“The thing that is really outstanding to me about Grace is her sense of joy and wonder,” said The Rev. Brenda Overfield, pastor of Holy Trinity.

Tack also thinks very highly of her older sister. “She has been a good sister, good friend, and nobody has a better outlook on life than she does,” she said.

Bucking says her family is a big reason why she has lived so long. She has no regrets, she said, and is ready for her next birthday. She enjoys reading books, doing jigsaw puzzles and spending time with people. Though she has never married or had children, she has six nephews, as well as a niece in Oklahoma, and says she is very happy.

“I came from the gas light to men walking on the moon, “ she joked. “From ice boxes to refrigeration and radios…I have great memories.”