100-Year-Old Nebraska Woman Shares Secret to Long Life at Surprise Birthday Party: 'I'm Not Afraid to Try New Things'

A Nebraska woman is sharing her secret to living a long life.

Marian Fitzwater celebrated her 100th birthday on Nov. 30, surrounded by five generations of her family.

The surprise festivities kicked off at Ridgewood Senior Living in Bennington, Neb., where her family played a slideshow of her life, allowing her to relive her most significant moments.

“Very emotional. Yeah, it really was,” Fitzwater told local news station KETV of the slideshow.

Some of the big moments in Fitzwater’s life include working at the Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant, an aircraft manufacturing facility, at 18 during World War II, owning a Sears store and delivering Meals on Wheels, where she met her husband.

“He would not let us get engaged or married until he came home from the war, so we had to wait and that was the longest wait I’d ever spent in my life,” Fitzwater said of her husband. The couple went on to have three children.

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Described as the “anchor of the family” by her youngest son, Phillip Fitzwater, the great-grandmother told KETV that she takes life “day by day” and tries to simply “be happy.”

“To be open and to be positive, to be accepting about your life and to be happy about what your life is,” Phillip echoed his mother’s sentiments.

“My motto in life is: ‘I tried,’ ” Fitzwater said, laughing. “I just want to try new things and I’m not afraid to try new things, so I just do ’em.”

And try things she has — the matriarch kept busy well into her 90s by kayaking, doing yoga and even riding in a helicopter, according to KETV.

“My health has been good, my memory’s so-so — it’s not bad,” she said. “And I count my many blessings every day.”