‘I would love to live to 107’: Gee, Ursula celebrate a West Seattle resident’s incredible birthday

Rosa Facciuto, a resident of Brookdale Senior Living in West Seattle, celebrated an astonishing feat earlier this week — her 107th birthday.

Facciuto was born in Seattle in 1918. Despite being more than a century old, staff and residents describe her as a vibrant presence at the senior living facility.

“Born in 1918 in an apartment in downtown Seattle … I’ve been widowed three times,” Facciuto told KIRO 7. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. I think the reason I’ve lived so long is because I’ve been so active. Having lots of friends, always doing something, and I don’t sit there and say, ‘Oh, there’s nothing to do.’ Go out and volunteer somewhere, but keep active.”

“I would love to live to 107,” KIRO host Gee Scott said.

“I want to live as long as I don’t have to be fully supported, whether it’s machines or having such a horrible quality of life, that it makes zero sense for me,” KIRO host Ursula Reutin retorted. “You can keep someone alive for a very, very long time, but the quality of life would play into that. But if I’m enjoying life like she is, like Rosa is at 107, oh heck yeah, I want to live that long.”

Facciuto celebrates her miraculous achievement alongside more than 100,000 centenarians currently living in the U.S. right now, making up approximately 3% of the population.

Would you want to live to 107?

“For anyone that says, ‘Oh, I don’t want to get that old,’ I say, ‘OK, what age do you want to go then?'” Gee asked.

“People might say 85, but there are people who are 85 living amazing lives,” Ursula said.

“Imagine making that deal,” Gee said. “You say, Oh no, I don’t want to live to 107. I want to live to 85, and then, when you’re 84 years old, you’re still working out at the gym. You’re still going golfing. You’re still always having a good time. Then you’re like, ‘Hey, can I push back that date?’ No.”

Facciuto, a former flight attendant for Alaska Airlines and secretary for the Seattle Police Department, has exemplified having a consistently good time in her old age. She continues to enjoy music, poetry, Bingo games, and social outings with friends. She volunteered at a senior center thrift shop and at Swedish Cherry Hill, when it was known as Providence Hospital, during her retirement.

Her advice for others is to always look on the bright side of life.

“There is always rain in someone’s life, but you can choose to look on the bright side,” she told KIRO 7.

Listen to the full conversation here.

Contributing: KIRO 7

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.