Ruth Brown, a resident at Langdon Place of Nashua, with Mayor James Donchess. Brown celebrated her 110th birthday on June 15. In addition to a visit from the mayor, Brown also received a bouquet of roses from President Joe Biden. (Staff Photo by Christopher Roberson)

NASHUA – Ruth Brown, a resident at Langdon Place of Nashua for the past eight years, recently achieved the incredible milestone of turning 110 years old.

According to the New England Supercentenarian Study at Boston University, there are approximately 60 individuals nationwide who have reached this point in their lives.

“She’s considered a super rare person, she just keeps going, she’s very tough,” said Brown’s daughter Bonnie Oliphant.

Brown was born in McKeesport, Pa. in 1913 to Swedish immigrants and was the oldest of 10 children. Growing up, Brown was the only child in her family who did not attend high school. However, she received money from her aunt to enroll in business school.

From there, Brown was hired for an office job with retail company G.C. Murphy and eloped at the age of 25. However, she had to keep her marriage a secret from her employer. Otherwise she would have been terminated as a result of the marriage bar which remained in effect until 1964.

After living in the Pittsburg area for 50 years, Brown moved to Oberland, Ohio as her husband, an air traffic controller, had gotten a job transfer to that part of the country. During that time, Brown spent three years as a poll worker in Oberland.

“She liked being a part of her community,” said Oliphant.

After the death of her husband, Brown moved to Texas at the age of 92 to be closer to her other daughter. She lived in Texas for 10 years until her other daughter passed away in 2015. Later that year, Oliphant, a resident of Westford, Mass., decided that her mother could not stay in Texas by herself. A new home at Langdon Place was the answer as it is only 20 minutes from Westford. However, the move to New Hampshire was no easy task. By then, Brown was 102 years old and the five-hour flight seemed daunting.

“That was traumatic for me,” said Oliphant. “I was so nervous, I didn’t know how she was going to be on an airplane at 102.”

However, her mother weathered the trip without a hitch.

“That’s another sign of her toughness,” said Oliphant. “She’s so resilient.”

In fact, Oliphant said her mother had always enjoyed traveling, going to destinations such as Mexico, Hawaii and Florida.

“She would fly by herself, she was always very adventuresome,” said Oliphant, adding that Brown has ridden both a bull and an elephant. “She wasn’t afraid to do any of those things, she was willing to try or do anything.”

Oliphant said the only major health scare came last November when her mother, like so many others, contracted COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated.

“I was very scared for her,” said Oliphant.

Although dehydration was a concern early on, Brown did not have any underlying health conditions and made a full recovery.

“She rallied, she came through it fine,” said Oliphant.

When asked about the secret to her longevity, Brown simply replied saying: “it’s a secret.”