A Centenarian Surviving in San Diego

Published: Friday, July 11, 2008 11:26 AM PDT

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Call this the Willard Scott corner of Survival in San Diego. Today is the 100th birthday of Virginia Ryal of Poway. Ryal's family wrote me yesterday to see if voiceofsandiego.org has a feature for locals hitting the century mark. I was intrigued and asked them to tell me a little more about Ryal.

Ryal's granddaughter, Allison Bagley, said her grandmother has performed on stage, has survived two husbands and has a daily hankering for a Starbucks mocha frappuccino, Bagley says. She roots for the Padres.

Here's a bit more from Bagley about her grandmother:

Virginia was the first person in her home town to fly in an airplane in the Midwest. They all saw the plane and she ran for it, she was in the air by the time her mother arrived at the field with the rest of the town. Virginia waved to her mother and watched her mother pass out as she climbed into the sky. The ride was thrilling. ...

"Ginny" as all her friends and family call her, loves shoes, darling outfits, and jewelry -- she taught me to have a love for shoes. She never dressed like a Grandma, she was always too stylish. She could paint pottery, do needlework, and used to craft all the time. ...

Wisdom, experience, grace, all words that describe my Ginny; I am better because of her and a strong and adventurous woman following her footsteps. Ginny loved to travel and see the world. She was never afraid to try new things and believes that the changes that she has seen in her 100 years are amazing blessings that has made the world better.

If you know a soon-to-be centenarian -- or for that matter, if you're a 99-year-old reader of voiceofsandiego.org -- shoot me a note before the big 100th birthday and we'll keep reporting on these survivors in San Diego.

Happy birthday, Virginia!