‘Enjoy your health’: Woman in Kingsburg celebrates 107th birthday

KINGSBURG, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) — The Kingsburg Care Center is celebrating a very special birthday. Esta Steuben celebrated her 107th birthday on Sunday with her daughter, friends and staff at the care center.

Esta is known as a patient person who goes with the flow. She was born in Southern California in 1918, and life’s journey took her across the country.

“I never thought I’d be doing this on any birthday, and it’s quite, quite a surprise,” Esta Steuben said.

Her daughter and friends surprised her with cake and ice cream for her 107th birthday on Sunday.

“She grew up in Glendale, California. She ended up marrying a man who lived in the remote part of Maine, and all of a sudden it was a new life,” Esta’s friend Bob White said.

Esta’s life wasn’t only spent in Southern California. Her new family moved to the East Coast during World War II.

“We moved to Maine and on a farm, mom had to learn to cook on a wood stove. We had no electricity. We did have running water and indoor plumbing. So I think she would have said, ‘No, I’m not doing it otherwise.’ But so she had to change her lifestyle considerably,” Esta’s daughter Ellen Riley said.

Esta traded highways for hay bales for three decades. When her husband retired, they ventured back out west and met their soon-to-be longtime friend Bob.

“I was a ranger in Kings Canyon Park, and Esther and Doug, her husband, showed up. They came originally from Maine, and they started working in the park,” White said.

Bob became close friends with Esta and her husband. She still remembers riding on Bob’s motorcycle to work.

“She was in her 70s going to work on the back of a motorcycle,” Riley said.

Age is just a number to Esta. She recalls the thrill of riding.

“I went through the park on his motorcycle. It was quite a ride,” Steuben said.

Esta lives a full life, and she has no plans to slow down.

“I just feel fine. I don’t think it’s any different than any other day. I am very fortunate that I haven’t had any serious illnesses that have kept me from enjoying life,” Steuben said.

Her daughter, Ellen, couldn’t be happier to share more memorable moments with her cool mom.

“It’s wonderful. And everybody has said, if you’re going to have a party for your mother, I want to be there. You are sure to invite me,” Riley said.

And, Esta is sharing a message with us all on her special day.

“I hope you enjoy your health as you get older as much as I’ve enjoyed mine,” Steuben said.

From all of us, Happy Birthday Esta!