Bronx Woman Turns 107, Shares Her Longevity Secret: 'I Never Got Married'

Photo by <a href="https://twitter.com/AndyKingNYC/status/1156603787483734018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Councilman Andy King</a>

Louise Jean Signore was born before World War I broke out, before Woodrow Wilson became president—and just three months after the Titanic sank.

Now the Bronx woman is celebrating her 107th birthday, which makes her one of the oldest living New Yorkers. CBS New York has a pretty delightful clip from Signore’s birthday party, in which the centenarian seems moderately irritated by all the attention but happy to dispense some longevity advice nonetheless. “I never got married,” Signore tells the reporter. “I think that’s the secret. My sister says, ‘I wish I never got married.’” (Signore's sister, also a centenarian, is 102 years old.)

A lifelong New Yorker, Signore was born in Harlem during the summer of 1912, and has lived in the Bronx since childhood. In the clip, she mentions that she remains active both physically and mentally. “I still do a little dancing,” she says. “After my lunch, I will play bingo, so I had a full day.” Although she’s legally blind, according to the NY Post, she gets around fine without a wheelchair or cane.

Remarkably, the oldest living person in the United States also lives uptown, and also celebrated an impressive birthday this summer. That would be Alelia Murphy, who lives in Harlem and turned 114 last month.

Just three years ago, the city was home to the oldest living person in the world: Susannah Mushatt Jones (who turned 116 in 2015 and sadly died the following year). She was, at the time of her death, believed to be the last American born during the 19th century. Clearly, New York is a pretty good place to be a supercentenarian.

Enjoy the birthday cake, and remember: never get married. Then you might have dance moves as good as the ones Signore showed off for her 106th birthday last year.