DANVERS — Sally Cuffe likes to say that Concetta "Connie" Rando has been taking care of her since she was 6 years old, when Rando was her second grade teacher.
“I can't begin to tell you what a marvelous woman she is,” Cuffe, 80, said about Rando. “I would like to convey that she is not just a role model for me, but for many people when it comes to leading a good life. She was exemplary.”
On Saturday, Rando celebrates her 109th birthday at Benchmark Senior Living at Putnam Farm where she lives, with her family. She received dozens of birthday cards, according to her niece, Janet Rando-Higgins.
Many of those cards are from Rando's fellow members of Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional society for female educators that Rando joined in 1969, according to chapter president Jo-Anne Butler.
Rando was born in Lynn in 1911 to Italian immigrants Frank and Josephine Rando. She was the third of five children, Rando-Higgins said.
“She grew up a very happy child,” said Rando-Higgins. “My grandmother, her mother, stayed home and took care of the house and her father was a shoemaker.”
In her 20s, Rando attended Salem Teachers College, now known as Salem State University, to pursue a career in teaching. According to records at Salem State, Rando graduated in 1932.
She went on to become a second grade teacher at Lynn Woods Elementary School in Lynn, according to Rando-Higgins.
“She loved her profession. She really did,” Rando-Higgins said. “She is a very warm, caring person, and she never had a problem staying late to help the kids.”
Cuffe said Rando inspired her to become an educator herself. Cuffe taught alongside Rando at the Lynn Woods Elementary School until Rando’s retirement in 1989.
Cuffe said she calls Rando frequently to reminisce about their teaching days. They sometimes chat about Friday afternoons when the elementary school teachers would grab lunch at Goodwin’s Clam Shop in Lynn.
“For $1.99 we would each get a clam or shrimp roll, french fries and dessert,” Cuffe recalled. “At the end of lunch, Connie would have to figure out the bill and how much everyone owed.”
She added, “All the teachers were wonderful ladies, and a couple of men too. We talk about some of the children we remember. It's amazing what she can remember.”
Priscilla Rando, who married Rando’s nephew, said Rando still loves seafood, especially scallops.
Rando, who Priscilla Rando said "never spoke a bad word about anyone," loved working with children and is close with her great grandnieces and grandnephews.
“She would spoil them rotten,” Priscilla Rando said about the times Rando watched her children. “At Christmastime, I remember she would get right down on the floor with the kids and she would be like a child herself.”
Rando-Higgins remembered that once a year, Rando, her two sisters and her mother would take the children on vacation.
Rando-Higgins said her favorite trip was sometime in the 1960s, when they went to New York City to see "The Music Man" on Broadway.
Rando’s church and her Catholic religion continue to play a huge role in Rando’s life, according to those who know her.
“Nothing was about her. It was about God and the Church,” Cuffe said. “She wasn't a preacher, but she led an exemplary life. She lived her religion perfectly.”
For many years, Rando attended Holy Family Catholic Church in Lynn, according to Higgins-Rando. When the church was under threat of closing, Rando was one of many parishioners who took turns sitting in the sanctuary, praying to save the church.
Cuffe said Rando is especially devoted to The Virgin Mary.
“She loves it when they have the rosary at [Benchmark],” Cuffe said. “She has to keep a rosary in her hand at all times."
Cuffe said Rando has been the person many people sought when they needed prayers.
“I think God kept her here so she can pray for those who need it,” Cuffe said.
In 2007, Salem State awarded Rando with the Friends of the School Outstanding Educator Award, which celebrates the accomplishments of Salem State alumni in the education field, according to Mandy Ray, the university's assistant vice president of institutional advancement.
Ray said Rando is Salem State’s oldest living alumna.
“Her quote in the 1932 Salem Teachers College yearbook was 'then give to the world the best you have, and the best will come back to you,'” Ray said. “She has certainly proven to live by this philosophy and is respected and loved by many of her friends, family and former students. Today we celebrate her and wish her a very happy birthday!”
Staff writer Erin Nolan can be reached at 978-338-2534, by email at enolan@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @erin_nolan_.
||||
