Orillia’s Lyla Martin is celebrating her 102nd birthday today.
Unfortunately, Martin has come down with a “wicked” cold and has been put into isolation at the Birchmere Retirement Residence where she lives. Looking on the bright side, Martin says being sick today has given her some time to reflect on her long and lustrous life.
Born in 1921, the Sudbury native says the key to living a long life has been her strong work ethic. It all started when Martin met her husband Arthur, who went by ‘Bud’, just before the Second World War.
“He joined the war because he was working in the mine and he didn’t like it, naturally,” she explained. “We got married, and then two months later he went overseas for four-and-a-half years.”
During the war, Martin worked at a munitions plant in Toronto.
“I didn’t want to go,” she said. “I wanted to stay in Sudbury with my mom, but she made me go.”
Martin learned lots of new skills at the plant and met many new friends.
“I met a lot of nice people during the war,” she said. “Everybody turned right out to help as much as possible and everybody worked together.”
When Arthur returned from the war, she says he was just the same as he was when he left.
“I didn’t see any difference in him at all,” she said. “We picked up our life and kept on going.”
The couple moved back to Arthur's hometown of Orillia to work in the real estate rental business. Martin retired from the munitions plant to work alongside her husband.
“When he got home from the war, he said I’m not taking orders from anybody else and I’m going to work on my own,” she said. “I helped my husband as much as I could."
Along with working with her husband, Martin also raised her only child, who is now 75. Martin has one grandchild and four great-grandchildren.
“I was an active person,” she said. “I was strong because I watched my mother do it all her life. It just came naturally to me to get up in the morning and keep working the whole day, every day.”
Even at 102, Martin is still quite active. She can often be found walking around in local parks and around her residence.
“I think that’s the reason I’m in good health,” she said. “I walk up and down the halls here and up to the park and back.”
Martin says she thinks she is likely in better shape than most people living at Birchmere Retirement Residence and claims to have no real physical challenges.
“I’ve been very lucky to be able to get up and do whatever I want to do all day,” she said. “I’ve had a good life, everything is still working well, and I’m as good as ever.”
Another reason for Martin’s long life could be attributed to mental toughness. She says she has never allowed stress get the best of her.
“I’ve never worried about anything,” she said. “I just get up every morning, do what I need to do, and cope with whatever goes on during the day.
“It’s the only way to live as far as I’m concerned. Why worry about things you can’t do anything about?" she said.
Martin grew up with seven siblings who are all deceased. All her friends and close relatives have also passed on. However, Martin is still finding happiness and enjoyment while living at Birchmere.
“I like it here very much,” she said. “It’s very nice. I’ve made good friends here and I take part in the activities regularly to keep myself active.”
Martin knows that it is inevitable that she will eventually lose the battle to Father Time, but, for now she is “taking every day as it comes” and making the best of the time she has left.
“The way I feel I think I can go another couple of years at least,” she said. “I live a normal life, I can eat anything they put on my plate, and I’m still enjoying every day.”
