Verna Adamiak isn’t sure if there’s any secret to her grandmother’s long life.
But now that Ituna’s Pearl Lutzko is touted to be the oldest living Canadian, there must be something that has led to her nearly 112 years.
“It had to be set in the works somewhere,” said Adamiak, who also lives in Ituna, located 160 kilometres northeast of Regina. “She just lived a normal life. There was nothing special that she did that other people don’t do. I can’t tell you what her recipe is.”
Lutzko was born Feb. 15, 1899, in Chortikiw, Ukraine, and is believed to be the oldest person in Canada at 111 years and 11 1 /2 months.
The title belonged to Elizabeth Buhler of Winkler, Man., who died Sunday. Buhler was to have turned 112 on Feb. 8.
While Lutzko has lived a mostly quiet life -coming to Canada in 1907, marrying John Lutzko in 1915, farming near Goodeve until 1959 and living on her own for 28 years after John died in 1975 -she was drawing plenty of attention on Tuesday.
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“It hits you and you go, ‘This is something pretty exciting,’ ” said Adamiak. “Not too many people ever get to this point in life.”
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Still, the day’s excitement didn’t keep her from her normal daily activities, even when a CBC camera crew was visiting her room at the Ituna Pioneer Health Care Centre lodge, where Lutzko has lived since 2003.
“One of the (lodge) workers came in and said, ‘Grandma, it’s bingo. Are you going to go to bingo?’ ” Adamiak said. “(She said,) ‘I’m finished here, let’s go to bingo.’ So she went to bingo, so that tells you she still has some interests in life.”
“She makes it known to the staff what she would like to wear and what she’s willing to eat and what she wants to eat,” said Chris Klimczak, the health centre’s recreation coordinator. “She’s very strong-willed that way.”
Lutzko, who is six years older than the province of Saskatchewan, attends the lodge’s Roman Catholic church service every Wednesday and according to her 94-year-old son, Nick, “she will talk to you loads.”
“Her legs are giving out, but other than that, she’s OK,” continued Nick, who also lives in Ituna.
“I don’t know what the secret is, but I suppose she could tell you a big story from her life.”
Pearl Lutzko gave birth to seven children and has 29 grandchildren, 55 greatgrandchildren and 26 greatgreat-grandchildren (although that last number could be off by one, said Adamiak).
The family is spread mostly through Alberta and Saskatchewan, but some will likely be back for Lutzko’s birthday party next month.
“Since she was 85 years old, we have always had a birthday party for her and the last 10 or so have been getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Adamiak.
“We were just making it a regular birthday party until (Tuesday), but now I think we’re gong to have to open it up a little bit.”
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