At 107 years old, Dorothy Marie Jewell credits her longevity to her faith. The Warren resident looks forward to spending time with her brother, Charles Thompson, 87, of Georgia, along with her nieces, nephews and family members.

WARREN — For 107-year-old Dorothy Marie Jewell, her longevity has had nothing to do with anything she has personally done to live a long life.

It has been a blessing from God.

Jewell, a Warren resident who is a practicing Presbyterian, is happiest when she’s able to talk to her brother, Charles Thompson, 87, of Georgia, and when her nephews, nieces and other family come to visit her.

She is among 20 other centenarians recognized this week by the Trumbull County Senior Services Advisory Council and the county commissioners during a ceremony Wednesday. This is the second year centenarians have been recognized formally by the county.

“There were 12 people recognized last year,” Diane Siskowic-Jurkovic, Trumbull’s senior levy administrator, said. “We lost five, but identified others through articles in the Tribune and a senior connect page.”The ceremony is part of the Senior Levy’s efforts to serve the needs and recognize the accomplishments of the county’s seniors.

Three of the 21 people recognized this year attended Wednesday’s ceremony. They were Melissa Minor, 101, of Warren, Esther Harriette Shaffer, 100, of Howland, and Alma Mae Knupp, 100.

Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa read a proclamation during the meeting that outlined many of the historical facts that occurred in the world over the last 100 years that these Trumbull residents either witnessed or experienced during their lifetimes.

Born to Ralph and Mabel Thompson in 1917 in Sheridan, Illinois, Jewell was one of six children. The Thompson family moved to Ohio when Dorothy was 7.

“We just lived the lives that God provided for us,” she described her upbringing.

A practicing Presbyterian, Jewell does not get out to her church as often as she would like but is steeped in her religion.

Her brother Charles is her only living sibling. Her mother was 94 when she died, and one brother was 96 when he passed. All other members of her immediate family were younger when they transitioned.

“I just leave it up to God,” she said. “Whenever God wants to take me, he’ll take me.”

In the meantime, Jewell is making the best of her life. One wall of her apartment at Community Commons Assisted Living Facility in Warren is filled with pictures of family members.

“They’ve been very good to me,” she said.

Dorothy and Charles talk over the telephone often, and he travels from his home to visit his older sister whenever he has the opportunity.

“We’ve always been close,” she said.

Dorothy married Howard Jewell in 1940. The couple did not have any children.

“We moved where my husband’s jobs took him,” she said.

Over the years, Jewell had a number of jobs as they moved from one place to another.

“One of my favorites was working as a clerk in the Morrow County Clerk of Courts,” she reminisced. “I learned so many things. I did that for about eight years.”

In her spare time, Jewell particularly enjoyed knitting and crocheting gifts for friends and family members.

“I do what I can,” she said. “I can’t do a lot of things I used to do.”

Girard resident Alma Mae Knupp, 100, who attended the ceremony with her son, Roger, and two grandchildren, believes her longevity is due to a combination of being very active through most of her life, eating good foods, having a close network of family and friends and the grace of God.

One of four children born to Glenn and Alice Ward in Pennsylvania, Knupp and her sister, Carma, 88, are the only two siblings who are still alive.

The sisters talk all of the time.

Knupp, who lives on her own, has two grandchildren in homes next door who check on her multiple times a day to make sure she has everything she needs.

“I’m fortunate,” Knupp said. “I’m pleased to have lived a long life and to have remained as healthy as I have. I’ve lived in the country where we did a lot of gardening. That’s a lot of work. It kept me busy. Up until recently, I did the mowing of my yard.”

She married Ralph Knupp in 1950. They had three children.

The Knupps are a close family. Having her grandchildren around has helped her keep her independence.

“I just rather live on my own,” she said. “They take good care of me.”

A member of the United Methodist Church, Knupp attends church services whenever she can. When she was younger, Knupp was a member of her church choir. Many of her fellow congregants stop by her home to talk and bring her things.

“Having good friends has helped,” she said.

Over the years, Knupp has found technological advancement particularly remarkable, including cellphones that are basically handheld computers and all-electric cars.

“When one of my members recently went to a wedding in Hawaii, we were able to call and see each other over the phone,” she said. “My husband used to work with computers. Those he used needed to fill whole rooms to do the type of things that can be done on cell phones today.”

Virginia Bass, 101, also a resident of Community Commons, was born in 1923, a child of Joseph and Dessie Swafford in Frankford, Indiana. She was one of seven children. Bass did not attend Wednesday’s ceremony.

She moved to Ohio to be with her daughter, Judy.

Bass enjoys playing all sorts of games, especially card games, with others at the assisted-living facility.

Over the years, she worked many different jobs, including her first as a butter wrapper, where she wrapped sticks of butter.

“It was a good job,” she described with a half smile.

Bass enjoys playing games with other residents at Community Commons and, especially visits with her daughter.

“As long as I’m cognitively aware, can walk and play games I’m happy,” she said.

She does what she can to help others.

Warren resident Melissa Minor, 101, is the last survivor of a dozen children of Mose and Melissa Jones of Arkansas.

Minor moved to Trumbull County when she was 22 years old to be closer to one of her sisters. She never moved from the area.

“She was tickled to be part of the ceremony,” described her daughter, Joyce Rand, who also attended the ceremony.

Minor and Rand laughed when Cantalamessa, a family friend, called Minor his girlfriend.

Rand immediately quipped Warren Mayor Doug Franklin would not have it, and Cantalamessa would have to fight him for the honor.

During World War II, while she was living in California, Minor worked as a welder for five years to help with the war effort.

After moving to Trumbull County to be closer to one of her sisters, she married James Minor in 1950. The couple had six children.

They worked various jobs to support their family. She worked as a maid, with a telephone company and for 20 years with General Electric company in Warren.

Rand described her mother’s conviction to honor her mother and father has contributed to her own longevity. It is a religious belief she passed on to her own children.

Even when Minor and her husband did not earn a lot of money themselves, she always sent money back to her parents to help.

At one point, the Minors had three large gardens: one in their own yard, one on a neighboring property and one on a property down the street from their home. Tending the yards kept them physically busy and supplied meals for their family.

Playing games helped keep their family close. She still plays bingo.

“She always liked doing things and keeping busy,” Rand said.

A religious woman, Minor has attended Friendship Baptist Church since 1946, where she’s still an active member.

“My faith in God has sustained me,” she said.

While Minor, at 101 years old, has lived the longest of all her siblings, they all survived until the late 80s. Most lived until their early to mid-90s.

The Minors traveled extensively over the years. She has been to 49 of the 50 states. The only state she has not been to is Hawaii.

“My mom still loves dressing up, going on long drives and cooking,” Rand said. “She makes a mean peach cobbler.”

Trumbull County centenarians

Dorothy Marie Jewell, 107

Helen Prince, 106

Evelyn Fisher, 106

Lily Sarah White, 104

Marion Kaufman, 102

Katherine “Betty” Collins, 102

Mary Infante, 101

Melissa Minor, 101

Vesta S. McVey, 101

Virginia Bass, 101

Theresa Montecalvo Verbosky, 101

Betty Cook, 101

Mariam A. Hopkins, 100

Esther Harriette Shaffer, 100

Ruth Lee, 100

Mike Salcone, 100

Alma Mae Knupp, 100

Norman Gatta, 100

Anna E. Mezei, 100

Eleanor Maraczi, 100

Thomas Brogdon, 100

Source: Trumbull County Senior Services Advisory Committee