'Chocolate, vodka, and thinking young' a regimen for Batavia resident celebrating 106th birthday

Considering that Eleanor Davis was celebrating her 38,690th day of life on Monday, she was taking it rather casually.

When asked how it felt to turn 106, she dryly responded, "The same as 105, just a different day,” during her birthday party at Premier Genesee in Batavia. “I had nothing to do with it.”

Actually, according to a family member and therapist, that may not be quite true. The Long Island native who grew up and lived in the same house for 75 years, eventually moving to Manor House in Batavia when she was 100, had a daily regimen that seemed to work for her.

“A couple of cocktails, dry martinis,” daughter Patricia Davis of Albion said. “Her sister is 15 years younger and is in worse shape than she’s in.”

Teressa Monroe, who has asked Eleanor her secret for longevity while working with her as speech therapist, said there has been a definite answer.

“Chocolate, vodka, and thinking young,” Monroe said, giving the sweet stuff its due. “My grandma ate a pound a week, so I buy into the chocolate.”

Fellow Premier residents gathered together for a round of “Happy Birthday” and a piece of cake to help Eleanor celebrate her big day. There are “quite a few in the upper 90s,” and staff just threw a party for another resident who turned 104 a couple of weeks ago, Hawley said. 

As for her steadfastness, Eleanor has not subscribed to the traditional physical recommendations of regular walking, her daughter said, and she does miss the salt water of her homeland so she wasn’t as much a landlubber.

Eleanor does have hearing and vision issues, but, as Activity Director Julie Hawley put it, “she’s still full of it.” Eleanor was honored as Resident of the Month at Premier when she was all of 105, which meant being recognized in the monthly newsletter. 

She provided tidbits of information, including her favorite foods of tiramisu and chocolate ice cream; her favorite animal of a cat; the best day of her life was getting married; giving advice to the next generation to “go with the flow;” and three words to describe her: easygoing, smart and compassionate. 

When asked at the party about her secret for long life, she spiced up her usual answer.

“A Bloody Mary every night,” she said.