100-year-old Windham resident has no plans on slowing down

By Ed Pierce

Phyllis Coffin of Windham marked a milestone that was a century in the making last month when she celebrated her 100th birthday on Dec. 10.

Phyllis Coffin of Windham turned 100 last month and
celebrated with family at a dinner in Portland. She has 
always led an active lifestyle and enjoyed roller skating,
water skiing, dancing, tennis and snow skiing when she
was younger. PHOTO BY GAIL HAMILTON
 

For the occasion, she enjoyed dinner at the Harbor Hotel in Portland with her family, including her children and grandchildren, her twin sister’s two daughters, and friends. Afterward, she was thrilled to converse at home via ZOOM with extended family across the country, while 100 birthday candles lit up the night sky outdoors, and more than 100 birthday cards decorated her porch.

Phyllis was born Dec. 10, 1922, some 10 minutes before her identical twin sister, Frances, in a farmhouse in Clinton, Maine to her parents, Grace Walls Lambertson and William Lambertson. She graduated from Clinton High school as salutatorian in 1940 and went on to attend Westbrook Junior College completing the Commercial Course with studies in bookkeeping, shorthand, law, mathematics of law.

On April 21, 1946, Phyllis married Herbert “Lucky” Coffin and the couple had two children, Jeffrey Coffin, and Gail Hamilton, who both live in Windham.

Her professional career included co-owning Friends Bridal Shop, working as a bookkeeper, and later as a Real Estate Broker.

She says that her most memorable job was when she was a full-time bookkeeper for Eastern Tractor and Equipment in Portland doing what she was trained to do and loved to do, working with numbers. To this day, she still tracks her own finances and signs her own checks to pay bills.

She’s lived an active life ranging from playing high school basketball and roller skating and dancing to

water skiing and snow skiing and in her senior years, playing tennis starting in the 1960s, which she continued until she was 90. Waterskiing became a genuine passion for Phyllis, and she became an AWSA-certified judge and served as the chief judge at numerous waterskiing tournaments throughout New England.

Her cooking was something special too.

“My favorite has always been her Hungarian rolls, which were traditional holiday fare at her house,” said her daughter, Gail Hamilton. “They were so gooey and sweet and made her holiday meals extra special.”

According to Phyllis, advances in technology during her lifetime have been nothing short of amazing, with a few inventions standing out among all the others.

“Telephones because they introduced us to technology,” she said. “And transporting of people from horse and buggy to car and flight and landing someone on the moon.”

She said the biggest historical event to take place in her lifetime is hard to choose because there have been so many.

“Bad things that stand out because they were so horrid,” Phyllis said. “The insurrection at the Capitol

floored me. I couldn’t imagine that happening in our wonderful country. And the destruction of the Twin Towers on 9/11 and the bombing of Pearl Harbor.”

Her husband passed away in 2012 and her twin sister, who was a huge part of her life, died in 2017. The twins attended the same college in Westbrook for bookkeeping and shared a mutual love for roller skating, performing together in shows at Old Orchard Beach to entertain U.S. servicemen during World War II.

As far as her own longevity in life goes, Phyllis said she credits having constant interests outside of just living, taking good care of her body, and helped by God in maintaining it.

For the future, she wants to continue to watch tennis on television and to do walking and exercises to maintain her mobility. She’s also planning to accompany her daughter to Idaho this coming summer for her grandson’s wedding. <

Windham resident reaches 100-year birthday milestone

Dorothy Fiske celebrated her 100th
birthday on Oct. 3 surrounded by
friends and family at Ledgewood
Manor in Windham. She was born
Oct. 3, 1920 in Westbrook and
moved to Windham with her
family at the age of 2 in 1922 and 
has lived here ever since.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

By Ed Pierce

Longtime Windham resident Dorothy M. Fiske attributes her faith in God as the key to reaching a milestone very few attain as she celebrated her 100^th birthday earlier this month.

Born Oct. 3, 1920 in Westbrook, Dorothy’s family gathered at Ledgewood Manor in Windham on her birthday to reminisce and honor a remarkable woman who has lived through some of the most memorable events in American history. She was just 9-years-old when the stock market crashed in 1929, was 21 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor leading to America entering World War II, and was 48 when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the surface of the moon.  

For about 98 of her 100 years of life, Dorothy has called Windham home, moving here from Westbrook at the age of 2 as the only child of Harold A, and Velma M. Hooper. She revels in being called a “centurion” for living for more than a century but says the title that she prefers the most is “mom” or “grandma.”

After graduating from Windham High School in 1937, Dorothy attended the Maine School of Commerce in Portland and then performed secretarial duties for Beneficial Finance Company, the Rumford Falls Power Company and NT Fox Lumber Company.

While working for Beneficial Finance, she met fellow employee John H. Fiske, Sr. and that changed the direction of her life. In 1943, they married and were blessed with two children, Susan F. Attwood and John H. (Peter) Fiske, Jr. while setting up their home in Windham.

Over the years the couple’s daughter, Susan, and son Peter, both graduated from Windham High School and began raising families of their own. John, Sr. died in 2007 at the age of 87 but he and Dorothy’s family grew to eventually include five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Through the years, Dorothy has remained active and involved with Merchant’s Reporting Service of Maine, Inc., the family’s business. In fact, she still sits on that company’s board of directors.

Her son Peter said his mother is devoted to her family.

“My most vivid memory of mom is she was always there for me,” he said. “Mom is happiest hearing stories about the kids and grandkids Most friends and family are amazed to know a centurion.”

Peter Fiske said that his mother enjoyed spending time at a family cottage in Bristol, Maine and winters in Florida when she got older.

“She liked to interior decorate, work her flower beds, read, make the holidays festive and cooked a very yummy chocolate cake,” he said.

Dorothy said many of her cherished memories of growing up revolve around time spent with her

family.

“I remember the simpler life, the patriotism, the courage of the men who fought in the wars,” she said. “People seemed to take time to interact more and help each other out more.”

She said to her the most significant event in her 100 years of life was her marriage and the birth of her two children.

As far as the best invention introduced during her lifetime, Dorothy mentioned the many space launches she and her husband watched in Florida which she thinks were wonderful.

She also remembers riding in the first car her family purchased, pointing out though that the automobile was an invention that came about prior to her birth.

Fiercely independent, Dorothy lived in the family home on Route 302 in Windham near the Westbook town line right up until February when her health prompted her to move to Ledgewood Manor in Windham for their excellent care.

The Ledgewood staff also celebrated her milestone birthday with Dorothy throwing her a special luncheon and birthday party for which she said she was very grateful.

A longtime Congregationalist, she says the secret of her longevity is really God’s doing.

“I believe my faith in God got me to my 100th birthday,” Dorothy said. <