DEERFIELD — At nearly 104 years old, Deerfield resident Grace Flood is among Franklin County’s oldest residents.

“I just keep going,” Flood said. “I didn’t expect to live this long.”

Prompted by an inquiry from a Turners Falls resident who wondered who the oldest person in Franklin County is, the Greenfield Recorder contacted the town clerks from each of Franklin County’s 26 municipalities to determine the oldest resident in each town. While Flood initially emerged as the oldest resident due to a clerical error in Deerfield, the Recorder later learned that the same town is also the home of a 109-year-old resident, Stella Connor.

In September, Flood will turn 104 years old, and she hopes to celebrate with cake.

“I just hope my son buys a cake, and we have it here, just the few of us,” Flood said. “I don’t want a big concern. I’m not used to that; I’m used to giving and not taking.”

Flood lives in Deerfield with her son, granddaughter and guinea pig, Tutu. Even though Tutu is “not the cuddly type,” Flood said he makes great company.

Flood grew up on a farm in Northfield. She enjoyed playing baseball and fishing with her siblings.

“We’d go fishing on Friday nights and stay overnight, camping and fishing on the Connecticut River,” she noted.

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

Three people hospitalized in Whately rollover crash

Deerfield Academy to offer free tuition to families earning less than $150K

Decision to remove park benches draws mixed opinions in Greenfield

Teen struck by vehicle prompts speeding concerns in Montague

Greenfield officials propose health study for Lunt neighborhood

2 arrested following Greenfield foot pursuit

Your Daily Puzzles

Cross|Word

Flipart

Typeshift

SpellTower

Really Bad Chess

At 18, she met her late husband while square dancing in Turners Falls.

“My mother — she and my dad used to go every single Saturday to square dancing in Turners Falls and I would stay and take care of the kids because I was the oldest,” Flood said. “But then she got pregnant again and she couldn’t go square dancing, so my dad said, ‘You’re going.’”

The man who became her husband was working with the band, and he approached her and her father to ask Flood to waltz.

Flood missed the next several square dances due to a bout of the chicken pox, but she eventually ran into her future husband as she was leaving Sears and he was leaving the A&P grocery store. He asked her father for her hand in marriage, and the two spent the next 20 years together until he died of a heart attack.

“After that, I had to be father and mother,” Flood said. “I don’t think I was too bad.”

Flood spent her time volunteering at the senior center and for the school lunch program, and later, working as a cook for the Franklin Nursing Home. She worked at the facility for roughly 10 years until it closed.

Flood has spent nearly her entire life in Franklin County. Looking back at the evolution of the county over the course of her life, Flood said she has seen immense change.

“Everything has changed [in my lifetime],” Flood said. “Everything changes. That’s what makes life.”

Jennifer Beckwith, Flood’s granddaughter, grew up with her father and grandmother in their home in Deerfield. After briefly moving away, Beckwith returned to Deerfield to help her father care for Flood. She has fond memories of their time together.

“She likes to take care of people. She did that a lot,” Beckwith said. “When I was growing up, I loved it when she would take me tag sale-ing.”

Reflecting back on her century-long life, Flood said her advice is to “just be good to people.” She added, “I have done so many things in my life. I really enjoy it. … I don’t think I had [a favorite decade]. I think everything was my favorite. I love taking care of my children.”

This article has been amended to reflect that Grace Flood is among Franklin County’s oldest residents, but not the oldest of them all. At 109, Stella Connor of Deerfield surpasses Flood by five years.