Matriarch celebrates 100th birthday, then goes back to work
When Claire Howard celebrated her 100th birthday on March 8, she marked the occasion like many of us do. She gathered with friends and family and there was a lot of champagne.
And the next day, after her weekend partying, she went back to work as usual at 9 a.m.
“Thankfully, lots of folks today can reach their 100th birthday, but a lady who works every day and lives alone, well, we think she is a lucky, rare bird,” said Elsie S. Howard, Claire's daughter-in-law.
Claire is a bookkeeper at Howard Law where she has worked for her son, Gene Howard, since officially retiring when she was 65.
“She retired, took two days off, and said she was bored,” her son said. “So I offered her a job with me. She would not accept an increase in salary and still won’t.”
For 35 years, she has managed multiple accounts. She types every check manually on her typewriter and maintains the bank balances on hand-written spreadsheets. When she answers her phone she says, “This is Claire,” and she remembers every client and friend, and every account number.
Her secret?
“There’s no secret,” Claire said. “Just don’t stop. Get up in the morning, brush your teeth, comb your hair, put a little lipstick on, and get out of the house. Just keep moving. Just keep going and going and going until you can’t go anymore.”
She shared her thoughts on parenting, too.
“When they’re little, take them around with you. Hug them and kiss them. Don’t criticize them and don’t give them the key to everything,” Claire said. “My kids were more important to me than my friends when they were growing up. People today are too busy for their kids. I love my kids and they love me. They are the best.”
Gene Howard said his mother is very self-sufficient and she has never asked him for anything.
“She’s only encouraged me and my sisters. We were just lucky. There were no requirements,” he said. “And there was absolutely zero pressure growing up. She just wanted us to be happy.”
Claire was born in New York in 1918 and married in 1940. She and her husband, Sid Howard, moved to Tampa with their young son right after World War II. The family moved to Miami in 1947, lived a year in Daytona Beach, and then moved back to Tampa. They settled in Miami in 1967 when Gene began practicing law.
Claire went to work as a bookkeeper at Belle Plaza and then for Cavanaugh Realty, before working at Morton Towers as the assistant to the comptroller, until her retirement. Her husband died in 1988. She lives on her own in North Miami Beach, but no longer drives. A driver takes her to and from the office each day.
“I eat everything and anything that doesn’t bite me, but I don’t overdo it,” she said of her lifestyle. “I eat rice pudding, the one that I make, and I have my ice cream, my candy, my cookies. When my daughter comes over she says, ‘Mother, you have all the junk food.’ I say, ‘Leave it alone!’”
“I eat very little meat. I can have spicy food for breakfast, my jalapeño cheese and pepperoni. I eat what I want, but I don’t eat too much. I like good bread,” she said.
Her other two children are Pattie Freistat, and Roberta Goldstein. Her grandchildren are Heidi Tandy, Liz Brown, Kyle Friestat, Nicole Trauth, Michelle Ryan, and Mark Goldstein. Her great grandchildren are Harrison, Jon and Catie Tandy; Sydney and Murray Brown V; Meredith Ryan Scholes and Matthew Ryan; and Dylan, Lily and Jack Trauth.
“I get the most beautiful cards from them for Mother’s Day and my birthday,” Claire said. “I think they love me more now than ever.”
Leon Hendrix to perform
Jimi Hendrix’s brother, Leon Hendrix, will perform at the HistoryMiami kick-off party to welcome the exhibit “Miami Rocks: The Miami Pop Festival, May 1968.” He will play a tribute to his brother’s music. The Lee Tiger Band, which played with Jimi Hendrix 50 years ago at the Miami Pop Festival, also will perform.
The event will be 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 18, at HistoryMiami Museum, 101 W. Flagler St. It is being held 50 years to the day of the original festival at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. Organizers said the Miami Pop Festival was where the “seeds of Woodstock were sown” as the promoter took most of the line-up from The Miami Pop Festival and created Woodstock.
The latest exhibit will run for about four months, until Sept. 30, so if you can’t make it to the opening, check it out another time. The exhibition will display rare photographs by Ken Davidoff, along with archival footage and artifacts that illuminate the story of this groundbreaking event. It also will tell the stories of Richard “Ric” O’Barry and Michael Lang who later famously promoted Woodstock.
“Few people know that this Miami Festival is the precursor to Woodstock,” said Jorge Zamanillo, executive director of HistoryMiami Museum, in a release. “Our own backyard led to that pivotal moment of Woodstock that changed Rock ‘n Roll history.”
Party tickets are $10. Go to http://www.historymiami.org/ to purchase and register. Call 305-375-1492.
Free patriotic concert
The Kendall Orchestra is proud to present its "Patriotic & Americana" concert free to our community at 6 p.m., May 20, at Kendall United Methodist Church, 7600 SW 104th St.
Director Thom Proctor said pieces include "Patriotic Bits 'n' Pieces," "The Water is Wide," "God Bless America" with vocalist Daisy Su, "Over the Rainbow," a "Patriotic Sing-Along" and "The Stars & Stripes Forever."
The growing all-volunteer Kendall Orchestra is a multi-denominational, multi-ethnic, multi-generational (ages 15-88), and multi-ability-level orchestra.
"When I took over the orchestra in February 2005, we had 14 players. We now regularly seat 36 to 40 players. For this concert, we'll approach a 50-piece orchestra," Proctor said. Call him for more details at 305-962-6316.
This story was originally published May 10, 2018 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Matriarch celebrates 100th birthday, then goes back to work."