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At 109 years old, Glendale resident has seen plenty of changes

Gertrude Ness, who turned 109 years old in April, has lived in her Glendale home for about 65 years.

Gertrude Ness, who turned 109 years old in April, has lived in her Glendale home for about 65 years.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)
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One of Glendale’s oldest residents — if not the oldest — was born the same year the city was founded.

The life of Gertrude Ness began on April 22, 1906 in Milroy, Minn., on a rural farm, and it has spanned two World Wars and 19 U.S. presidents.

But as a lifelong Los Angeles Laker fan, she’s also glad to have been around for every single NBA championship the team has won.

Although she’s enjoyed watching all-star Kobe Bryant help lead the team to five titles over the last 20 years, she admits it’s time for him to call it quits, especially after the latest injury-plagued season.

“I think it’s time for him to retire; he’s practically retired now,” Ness said as she sat on a couch in her northwest Glendale home where she’s lived for over six decades.

At 109, she has a lot to say about basketball, education, community service and working on war planes.

Ness’ move to Southern California in the early 1940s started a decades-long career in education followed by several more decades of volunteering locally after she retired.

In 1943, in the middle of World War II, Ness worked at the former Lockheed Vega plant in Burbank as a riveter on B17 bombers. That job earned her the nickname Gertie the Riveter, similar to the iconic Rosie the Riveter.

One day, a man on the job asked her and another female co-worker why they were working on bomb-bay doors — a job thought to be for men only at the time — but there was a running joke.

“The joke is we had to correct the men’s work,” Ness said. “We didn’t make mistakes.”

In 1944, she started working in early-childhood education for the Glendale Unified School District and retired in 1973. But she kept just as busy afterward.

She’s held offices with the Glendale Coordinating Council, the Glendale YWCA and Sons of Norway.

In the past, Ness was active in the Women’s Committee of Glendale Symphony Orchestra, Altrusa Club of Glendale, the Women’s Civic League and served as librarian for the Valley Symphony Orchestra.

She still belongs to the Glendale Community College Patrons Club, Glendale Beautiful, Glendale Workshop Republic Women Federated and the Glendale Teachers Assn.

“I think volunteering helps a person grow, I think that when you volunteer, you have to get used to all kinds of people,” she said.

While she doesn’t attend as many meetings as she used to, Ness tries to make it out to special events and functions, albeit with some help getting in and out of cars.

Two years ago, the Patron’s Club presented her with the Woman of Distinction Award.

She drove a car until she was 104 and her latest driver’s license expired just last year. But when it came time to renew, she had to take a test. She declined and realized it might be time to stop getting behind the wheel altogether.

“It wouldn’t make a difference if I got a 100 on that test,” she joked. “If I got into an accident on the freeway or the street, it would be the old lady’s fault.”

Staying busy during retirement was one of the reasons why she says she made it to 109, a year before she advances from a centenarian to a supercentenarian. Only about 1 in 1,000 centenarians live to be 110.

Never smoking or drinking also played an important role in her longevity, she said, as did eating good food, a habit that traces back to her childhood on the farm and eating soup her mother made from “homegrown stuff.”

And after witnessing the rise of countless innovations such as the radio and television, she said she’s still the most fascinated by planes.

As for changes in Glendale over the last eight decades, the biggest would have to be the number of people living in the city and how many of them own cars.

“There’s more people … it’s not just the parents that have the car, the kids have cars, too,” Ness said.

She still lives alone and, though it’s getting harder to get around, she said she has people she can count on.

Her family includes two daughters, one of them being Jo Ness, who visits her mother often. Then there’s a neighbor who regularly checks in on her and a few caregivers who stop by throughout the week.

Still, she said, having close connections with people she cares about also played a role in living a life as long as hers.

“I’m fortunate to have family, and they all take care of me in different ways,” Ness said.

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