Rancho Bernardo woman proves her table tennis skills at 101

Marjorie Harford, well-known among her fellow retirement home residents for being an exceptional table tennis player, has now garnered national attention for her skills.

A video of the 101-year-old Rancho Bernardan beating San Diego Firefighter Nick Plancich has gone viral after San Diego Fire-Rescue posted a short clip of their Aug. 28 game to the department’s Facebook page. Within a week it had been viewed more than 82,000 times and shared 880 times. The video is at tinyurl.com/pingpong101.

The crew from Station No. 33 had responded to a medical call at The Remington Club I and after that crisis was over noticed Harford with ball and paddle in hand, but with no one to play against, according to Jessie Cogdill, director of resident services.

After a little encouragement from the fire captain, Plancich decided to challenge her to a game that initially was a steady back and forth volley between the two. That did not last long once he hit the ball a little higher and in response she swiftly lobbed a ball toward him that he could not return. Plancich was not available for comment, but reportedly said Harford has “skills” afterward.

“They had a great time,” Cogdill said. “It warms our heart not only that they respond to emergencies but care for our residents at a deeper level.

“Her family was very excited to see her clip on the news,” Cogdill said about subsequent television coverage of the video.

Teri Hanson, The Remington Club’s sales director, said they heard the story was picked up by other television stations across the country, including those in Houston, Las Vegas and Tampa, Florida.

“It keeps me active, otherwise I’d be sitting in a chair doing nothing,” Harford said about her love of the game that started back when her daughters were young and they had a table tennis table installed at their home.

The Rancho Bernardan since the early 1990s said she and her late husband, Paul, lived in Oaks North for about a decade before they moved into The Remington Club’s independent living facility in 2003, where she still lives. Her husband died in 2009.

Table tennis is not her only speciality. Harford said she is a former Oaks North lawn bowling champion and she still enjoys other hobbies, such as watercolor painting and drawing.

Once per week the table tennis game is set up and a few of the residents and staff members play. Harford “is the best and oldest” among them, according to Cogdill.

Email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com