In the final column, news on the recent 105th birthday of a local woman, a retired judge up for a California Book Award, a local school district’s Take Home Tech program, and the garage sale at the city-wide next month.
BIRTHDAY HAPPINESS… It’s a celebratory time for the Palo Alto resident Grace Leewho turned 105 on Wednesday April 20.
Lee is a resident of the front retirement home in the Ventura district. She is an accomplished woman who served in the Air Force during World War II and speaks five languages (English, Mandarin/Cantonese, German, French and Russian). Lee said she has no regrets in life except one: “not knowing how to play the piano.” The 100-year-old considers being a mother one of her greatest accomplishments, according to jenny huynhdirector of L’Avant activities.
Lee has a passion for baseball and swimming and tries to be active in as many activities as possible despite the limitations of her physical strength. Lee maintains his health by practicing yoga and tai chi and doing daily exercises. Although she admitted to having a love-hate relationship when it came to technology, Lee acknowledged that it kept her engaged and expanded the horizons of her mind, “hence why she’s so sharp for her age. “, said Huynh.
Lee is a third-generation Californian who was born in Oakland, attended high school in Stockton, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, according to a 2017 interview with the Weekly ahead of her 100th birthday. She was administrative manager at Stanford Universitywhere she worked for 28 years until her retirement in 1991 at age 72.
So what is this 105-year-old woman’s secret to longevity? “The best advice I can give anyone who wants to live a long healthy life is to exercise and be happy,” she said.
AN HONOR FOR ‘HER HONOR’… Retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge and former Palo Alto City Council member The Doris Cordell is a finalist in the 91st Annual Commonwealth Club of California Competition California Book Award.
Cordell’s memoir, “Her Honor: My Life on the Bench,” is one of five works selected in the non-fiction category. One of the nation’s oldest and most distinguished literary awards programs, the Book Awards selects 25 outstanding books as finalists in six categories – fiction, early fiction, poetry, nonfiction, young adult and juvenile – from among hundreds titles submitted. From these finalists, the Book Prize jury will choose the gold and silver medal winners and announce them next month.
“WOW!!” Cordell said in a Instagram post. “Just being a finalist makes ‘Her Honor’ a winner in my book!”
BUILD LINKS… the Ravenswood City School District launched an initiative called Technology to go programso that all students have access to district-owned devices in the classroom and have one at home, according to an April 11 district newsletter.
The district has begun distributing student devices for home use to all students in grades six through eight who have indicated a need. Ravenswood will then provide home Chromebooks for students in grades two through five, and home iPads for students in kindergarten through first grade, as well as Wi-Fi hotspots. It can also now provide a access point for district teachers who have poor or non-existent high-speed Internet access at home.
“The Take Home Tech program will help accelerate learning at Ravenswood by providing students with a homework device, connectivity to the program, and easy access to e-books,” the bulletin said. New Chromebooks and Wi-Fi hotspots have been purchased through a federally funded stimulus package Connectivity Emergency Fund (FEC).
GOT ORDINARY? … the Palo Alto Citywide Garage Sale is back and looking for residents who want to earn money while helping the environment. If you have unwanted items that may become someone else’s treasure, city organizers urge you to keep them out of the landfill by offering them for reuse.
The sale is set for Saturday June 4 and the deadline to register because today is May 13. You will receive an information sheet with tips for a successful sale. For potential buyers, the map and sale listings will be live by May 24 and will be printed in the June 3 edition of the Palo Alto Weekly. For more information send an e-mail [email protected] or call 650-496-5910.