New Bedford native celebrates 110th birthday, receives thousands of cards

December 28, 2018 10:51 pm

By: Ross Perry

Email: Rtperry@abc6.com

Twitter: @RossPerryTV

When 109-year-old New Bedford native Irene Miller asked for people to send her birthday cards earlier this month, no one expected the overflow that was soon to follow.

In less than a month, Miller was sent over 3,500 birthday cards. “The mailman was awesome he came with a bucket every day” says Shirley Antil of Active Day New Bedford.

Word of her request began to spread like wildfire. Soon cards from places as far away as Germany, Australia, and Hungary began to arrive. Miller even got a card from someone unexpected. “She got a letter from a man in a prison in Oklahoma and she touched his heart” Antil adds.

However, while the people Miller is closest to were amazed, they were not surprised.

“Everyone that meets her and talks to her, they see life in a different light” says her grandson Thomas Miller.

In order to ring in her 110th birthday appropriately, her adult day care service, Active Day, decided to throw her a party. Little did they know, it would become a community event.

“I expected a lot of people but I never imagined it would be this big, I didn’t” Antil says.

The room, decorated with just some of the 3,500 cards she received. The workers at Active Day, also sporting shirts of Irene’s picture with her life’s motto; “Don’t worry about tomorrow, deal with it when it comes.”

Acknowledgments from both Massachusetts and Rhode Island legislators were displayed and Bristol County Sheriff’s Office’s very own Sherriff Tom Hodgson was in attendance.

To round out the festivities, Irene blew out her birthday candles for the 110th time. However, this year her birthday wish was already granted.

If you would like to send Irene a belated birthday card, that can be sent to Active Day of New Bedford at 107 Welby Rd, New Bedford, MA 02745.