Living through her 2nd pandemic, longtime Tacoma waitress ‘Teeny’ celebrates 102 birthday
Tina Gerlack says she misses work the most.
Gerlack’s hearing isn’t what it used to be, and she can no longer see well enough to read the morning paper, but the feeling of accomplishment that comes with a job well done is what really makes her tick. That’s harder to find now, she says.
Otherwise, Gerlack — whose resume as a waitress in Tacoma dates back to the Olympus Hotel and culminated with nearly 30 years spent serving customers at Johnny’s Dock — has few complaints.
“I’ve just had a wonderful life. I don’t know what else to say,” Gerlack told The News Tribune this week. “I worked hard. That was my favorite part. Because when you work … it’s an accomplishment. You look back and see what you’ve done, and it gives you a big lift.”
“I’m not a sitter. I’m not a goer. And I wasn’t a chaser. Work was the thing,” Gerlack, who now lives at the Brookdale-Allenmore Senior Living Facility, explained. “I had so many jobs, I haven’t got fingers and toes to count them all up.”
Last Sunday, Gerlack celebrated her 102nd birthday. She did so largely alone, because of the coronavirus and the strict precautions being taken at independent living facilities like Brookdale-Allenmore.
Born in 1918 at the outset of another devastating pandemic, Gerlack’s experience a century later illuminates what many seniors are going through during today’s COVID-19 outbreak. Like many, she’s increasingly isolated and trying to stay safe.
Mostly, Gerlack would like to get out and do her own grocery shopping, she said — which she still does for herself. But much like when asked about her life, she said she can’t complain.
That doesn’t mean the ways the COVID-19 outbreak has changed her life have been easy.
Two years ago, when Gerlack turned 100, her niece Janet Shonborg — who is 71 and also lives at Brookdale — organized a big party for her at Joseppi’s. Though Gerlack’s husband passed away decades ago and the couple had no children, the room was full of her many friends and extended family members.
This year, because of the coronavirus, Gerlack and Shonborg had to improvise.
A Brookdale staff member acquired a cake and some balloons, while Gerlack made her way to Shonborg’s apartment for lunch. No outside guests were allowed.
When it was time to eat, Gerlack stayed outside and had cake in the hallway, adhering to social distancing precautions, talking to Shonberg through the doorway.
“We haven’t been allowed to have dinner in the dining room for a month or so, but I still thought we needed to celebrate her birthday,” Shonberg explained. “We’re trying to stay six feet apart. We’re making it through this, but it is kind of hard.”
“It was a really cool birthday, even though it was just her and I,” Shonberg said.
“That’s the way it is now.”
Gerlack isn’t letting it get her down, which is typical, Shonberg said. She moved into Brookdale a little over a year ago after spending more than 60 years at her home in Tacoma, where she gardened and took the trash out until the very end.
Today, Gerlack still does her own laundry, irons her sweatshirts and exercises daily — doing leg lifts on her bed to keep up her strength and arm routines to fend off the arthritis in her shoulder.
Gerlack has been through so much in her life that the coronavirus almost feels like a footnote, Shonberg said.
After all, Gerlack saw a brother off to World War II, lived through the death of each of her six siblings, and built a large following of devoted customers during the heyday of Johnny’s, including many prominent Tacoma doctors, lawyers and car salesmen, many of whom knew her by her nickname — “Teeny.”
Living through her second pandemic is just one more story, Shonberg said.
“She’s an amazing person, who has been taking care of her family her whole life,” Shonberg said.
“She’s eager to have this be over, but she’s doing the best she can.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 5:10 AM.
