Geneva Scott celebrates 109 years alongside family

MOSES LAKE – Geneva Scott, 109, celebrated her birthday at the Jet A Way Cafe on Sunday surrounded by her six generations of family, Safeway employees, pancakes and a hearty serving of cake and ice cream. 

“I remember she had her 100th birthday over at the bowling alley at the restaurant there,” Jeff Mancheni, Geneva’s son-in-law said. “I said, ‘Well, Grandma, what are you going to do?’ She said, ‘Well, I'm going to turn 110.’ I said, ‘Well, you just turned 100.’ She said, ‘I know.’ Well, she's damn near there and she's in good health.” 

The Jet A Way Café at the Grant County International Airport is usually closed on Sundays but offered to open especially for Geneva’s bash after the owners reached out to the family. The restaurant is owned and operated by Million Air Moses Lake. Five people came in on Sunday to ensure Geneva could have her annual pancake breakfast. The staff included Katrina Balderas, Crystal Cooper, Minae Suetsuga, Victoria Ward and Hannah Little.  

“She doesn't eat a whole lot in (one) sitting, but pancakes are her favorite,” Crystal Scott, Geneva’s granddaughter-in-law, said. “We usually take her up to the restaurant and she gets pancakes, and they couldn't do it this year. So (Jet A Way Cafe) people were nice enough to let us come here today. Then we said ‘Well, pancakes aren't on your menu,’ and they said, ‘It will be.’ So, they went out of their way to make sure that she got her pancakes.” 

Geneva did get her pancakes, and everyone left the birthday girl alone as she finished her pancakes drenched in syrup. Prior to the plate arriving in front of her, her family members came up to say, ‘Happy Birthday.” Geneva has hearing loss but as people came up to talk to her, she responded with one of three things, “I’m hungry," "Where are my pancakes?” or for a select few, a smile and a hug, where she would pull their face in to touch her cheek. 

After Geneva finished her plate of specially made pancakes, her dialogue switched to “Do I get cake now?”  

A team of Safeway employees including Drew Dillery, Matt Teed, Darin Gerimonte, Kelsie Lund, Josh Edwards, Debbie North, District Manager Tina Riddle and Moses Lake Store Director Ed Wilson helped set up all the decorations and provided the cake, flowers and balloons for Geneva’s birthday bash. The team at Safeway heard about Geneva’s birthday and knew they wanted to help with the celebration. 

“Safeway has always been customer first and recognizes the people in our community and just love and care for our community,” Riddle said. “When we got a letter about their grandmother being 109 years old – we even went to our corporate level and asked them to help support. They're the ones that helped us with all the money to pay for everything and said, we definitely want to support the Moses Lake community, and you know your special customer that's 109 years old. And so, we made a point to schedule ourselves to be here today, to come and celebrate with Geneva.”  

Geneva, born in 1915 in Oklahoma, embodies a life rich with challenges, experiences and unwavering love, according to Shirley Scott, her granddaughter. Her journey began when her family moved to the West Coast in 1922, traveling by vehicle with her family and her nanny, Geneva, after whom she was named. The family's first stop was in Santa Barbara, California, where she forged a memorable friendship with a young Hispanic boy who taught her how to catch horned toads. According to her granddaughter, Shirley Scott, these toads were given to a taxidermist in exchange for tamales.  

The Scott family settled in Gold Bar, Washington in search of better job opportunities. Geneva’s father worked as a telegrapher, affording the family a modestly luxurious lifestyle, and enabling them to own a vehicle that was a rarity for many during that period. Her midwife mother often took Geneva along to assist with other children while she tended to her duties.  

Geneva often spoke fondly of her experiences, particularly her first visit to the ocean. During this trip, she encountered an airplane at a nearby county fair that offered rides to eager participants. Despite her yearning to fly, her mother forbade her from taking part in the adventure, a memory that Shirley recalls vividly.  

“Grandma always had that adventurous spirit,” Shirley said.  

At the age of 15, Geneva met her future husband, Noel Scott. Their marriage spanned 75 years, lasting until his passing from Alzheimer's disease. Throughout their life together, Geneva cared for Noel with unmatched love and devotion.  

“They loved each other dearly. She was such a good mom,” Shirley said “She was very protective over her children, so they were very sneaky with their adventures. And boy, when she found out, there was some punishment issued.” 

In her early adult years, Geneva was anything but idle. She held various positions, including roles at the Larson Air Force Base Post Exchange, Everett Shipyards, and Moses Lake Grocery. Additionally, she bought and sold real estate, volunteered with the Eastern Star to help establish the Washington Food Bank, and raised livestock.  

“She was working at the Air Force Base, working over in Seattle, you know, like Rosie the Riveter,” said Chrystal Scott, Geneva’s daughter-in-law. “She was just like that. She's been through everything in her life.” 

The family faced challenges in their move to Moses Lake, where Geneva and Noel lived in a hotel for several months.  

“They rented a room, and then it just blossomed from there,” Shirley recalled.  

Geneva, according to Shirley, described the transition from Gold Bar to Moses Lake as a stark change, recalling sagebrush and snowdrifts, with Geneva asking herself, “What the hell are we doing?” Nevertheless, she learned to adapt and embraced her new community. 

As the years went by, Geneva and Noel eventually purchased a Cadillac, a luxury that symbolized their hard-earned success and their desire to explore. One pivotal moment in Geneva’s life came when she turned 18—she was eligible to vote for the first time. Excited by this new responsibility, she encouraged the women in her family to be independent and civic-minded.  

Throughout her life, Geneva also nurtured a profound love for animals. Her family fondly recalls a particularly cantankerous cat that refused affection yet remained a cherished companion.  

“There's one that she currently has now that's at her house,” Shirley said. “But I know that grandma once that cat attacked me literally, and she said, ‘Oh, that poor kitty.’ And I'm like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” 

Geneva is especially recognized for her generosity and hospitality. Family members describe her cookie and candy drawers as mandatory stops for visitors; refusing a treat would typically result in a gentle reprimand.  

“I really think that 10 years from now, we'll be having another birthday party,” Shirley said. “So just a thanks to everybody that came from a way away and nearby, but that is also what she's given to this community and to our family. We always say, ‘Geneva strong,’ because she's one of the strongest women that I could think of.”  

    Geneva Scott celebrated her 109th birthday with six generations of family on Sunday. Katie Spencer, third from the right in the second row, who is also pregnant and a great-great granddaughter and will be having a boy in April, which will be Geneva’s great-great-great grandson.
  

    Geneva Scott is welcomed by Chrystal Scott, her granddaughter-in-law at her 109th birthday party on Sunday.
  

    A team at Safeway helped set up the Jet A Way Café with decorations, flowers, balloons and a cake for Geneva Scott’s 109th birthday. The back row from left to right is Drew Dillery, Matt Teed, Darin Gerimonte, Kelsie Lund, Josh Edwards and Debbie North. The front row from left to right is District Manager Tina Riddle, Birthday Girl, Geneva Scott and Moses Lake Store Director Ed Wilson.
  

    Geneva Scott, left, waits patiently for a fork to eat her birthday cake. The cake was provided by Safeway after her family reached out letting them know she would be turning 109.
  

    Geneva Scott’s dad standing in front of the vehicle the family used to ride over in from Oklahoma during the 1920’s. The family moved to Gold Bar, Washington before Scott met her husband of 75 years and moved to Moses Lake.