Centenarian celebrates 100 years all week

Roxie Richter had a vanilla malt for lunch and her birthday cake had three candles on it - the numerals 1-0-0.

Roxie's friends from her Tuesday bridge group helped her celebrate her 100th birthday with lunch at Katie's restaurant in the Carson Valley Inn, two corsages and birthday cake.

She was born March 31, 1908, in Morgan Mill, a small town near Ft. Worth, Texas.

"I thought that if I reach 100 and get a bite of my birthday cake, I'd be ready to go," she said.

Roxie came to the Carson Valley Residential Care Center almost exactly 10 years ago.

"It's been my home," she said. "I've been playing with the bridge group since I was 95. They keep me in the bridge club and put up with me. I'm legally blind but I still play bridge and pinochle."

Roxie has macular degeneration and glaucoma. She said they play with cards with jumbo characters but that her friends help her read her cards.

"I probably will never go completely blind but it's getting pretty bad."

Roxie and her husband Carl Richter were married for 57 years when he died 18 years ago. They moved to South Lake Tahoe in 1963 where they were involved in real estate. The Richters' hobby was gardening and they belonged to the South Lake Tahoe Garden Club.

"I grew mostly flowers and my husband planted the potatoes," she said.

Roxie had been celebrating her birthday since the previous weekend. Relatives visited from Texas, Kansas and New Mexico.

"We had 19 relatives here to celebrate this birthday," she said. "That's all that's left to the family."

Roxie attributes her longevity to genes - her brothers lived into their late 90s - and to clean living and no smoking.

"You really made my day," Roxie said after her friends sang "Happy Birthday."

Centenarians in the U.S. receive birthday greetings from the president and Nevadans also receive a card from Sen. Harry Reid.

"I think I'm doing pretty good for myself," said Roxie.