WWII Bride Turns 100 In Orland Park, Still 'Up For Anything'

ORLAND PARK, IL — Lea Luchini doesn't have many sage pieces of advice for living to be her age. Actually, she doesn't seem all that impressed by turning 100.

But ask her family, and they're a lot less modest about their matriarch's big milestone. Her eldest grandson even launched a Facebook campaign to collect her 100 birthday cards for her big day, making the daily mail the highlight of her day.

"What do you do when you turn 100? You throw a party, of course!" her family wrote to Patch.

The Orland Park resident will celebrate with 50 friends and family on Feb. 18 at a local restaurant—and a week after her birthday, in a testament to her adventurous spirit, she'll road trip with her daughters to a craft show in Michigan.

"She loves to travel," said her daughter, Adele Kieken, 75. "it’s harder for her to get on and off planes, even with her walker, or a wheelchair. ... "We’re not getting any younger, either, to do this with her. But her heart is in it, she wants to do it."

Hitting the road isn't rare for the family; some of Kieken's clearest memories are alongside her two sisters and parents, trekking all around the United States and even Canada by road. Her parents were frugal, Adele recalls, her mother often cooking their meals on a Coleman grill.

"That was the way we were able to travel as much—not going out to dinner, staying at rustic cabins instead of fancy hotels with swimming pools," she said.

Her mother's frugality trickled down into Adele Kieken. Luchini would often sew her family's clothes, and crochet (the latter of which she still does today). In her own marriage, Kieken has done the same for herself and her two children. A close-knit family, traditions run deep, Kieken said, also recalling days her mother toted them with her to spend time caring for her parents; Kieken and her sister now share the responsibility of helping care for their own mother. She's healthy, with no major health complications, Kieken said. She is independent and strong.

"She’s on no medications for being that age." Kieken said, astonished. "Couple hospital visits for minor things ... her short-term memory is going."

They sometimes find themselves repeating things they've said, she said, but it's a lesson in patience.

"You get impatient with that, but the alternative isn’t fun. You have to keep telling yourself that so you don’t get too impatient. ... It’s one of those things where you’re going to miss it when it’s not there anymore."

The family has a detailed history of Luchini's 100 years. She was born on February 15, 1923 to Emil and Adele Tonelli in Gragnola, Italy, a small hamlet in the mountains of northern Tuscany. She came to the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago with her mother at the age of 2 to join her father who was already working here. She didn’t speak English, but soon assimilated and went on from St. Willibrord Grade School to graduate high school at St. Louis Academy.

In 1943, Lea met active-duty WWII Navy Seaman August “Gus” Luchini in Roseland, and married 9 months later at St. Willibrord Catholic Church. By 1947, their family grew with the addition of their first daughter, Adele, followed by Alice in 1950, and Anita in 1954. Luchini spent her days as a full-time mother with the occasional stint working at a friend’s furniture store or doing typing jobs in the family dining room.

"Lea always cared for her family, including her parents who were within walking distance," the family told Patch, "and her daughters remember helping their grandparents with groceries and laundry."

In 1973, the family moved from Roseland into a new home they built in Orland Park. There, they entertained their growing family and watched over some of their 7 grandchildren, 5 of whom lived within walking distance of their grandparents’ home, thus carrying on what was now a family tradition. After Gus retired, he and Luchini began selling his hand-crafted jewelry pieces as well as his gold-plated plants at local craft shows, making friends along the way.

In 1974, Lea and Gus traveled to Italy. This was her first trip to see family since she left as a 2-year-old child. Her aunt, uncle, and many cousins were all there to visit with her. She made sure to have her photo taken at the baptismal font in the church of Gragnola as well.

Their family grew to include 7 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. In 1994, her husband died and Luchini carried on, staying in their Orland Park home and working at a knit shop, teaching many others to enjoy knitting as much as she does. Luchini still enjoys sewing, crocheting, and knitting for friends and family.

"She’s still crocheting," Kieken said. "... She crochets afghans, then scarves. ... when she gets done, she just adds it to the pile.

"Keep busy and crochet."

She does not let anything stop her from enjoying life, her family said, even trying out jet skiing at 86 years old.

"She’s up for anything," Kieken said. "If we tell her, 'Mom, do you want to go thrifting?' She'll get in the car."

But her mom's clever, Kieken said.

"She just wants to go out to lunch," she said, laughing.

"She’s up for things, if she thinks she can do it. She’s a trooper."