One of Peabody’s most beloved seniors had the thrill of her lifetime (a very long lifetime) Monday when the community came together at the Kaplan Estates to celebrate a milestone event.
The occasion? A surprise 100th birthday party in honor of popular Peabody resident, Catherine “Kay” Morrocco, who was treated to a rolling parade and an avalanche of tributes, trinkets, flowers, special songs and remembrances.
‘I don’t know what to say. This is just too much,” said Morrocco. “My mother and her mother lived to be 94, so I rather expected to be that age, but when I exceeded it one year, then two, then three and then my God up to 100! God has been good.”
The party began with the parade, led by police and fire escorts. The parade included a specially-decorated Trask Adult Day Care bus that sported a giant photo of Morrocco.
Morocco wore a silver tiara and sash that said “100 & Fabulous.” Her granddaughter, Julie Morrocco, created a special portrait of Morrocco entitled, “Hip Hip Hooray for a Century of Kay.”
There was even a visit from Mayor Ted Bettencourt, who gave Morrocco a special hug and presented a gift from the City.
The event was so big that Peabody Access Television covered the event on live TV.
Entertainment was provided by several representatives of the Peabody Council on Aging who were dressed in matching neon pink tee-shirts and waving colorful streamers as they danced.
Not content to be a spectator, Morrocco joined the party after being handed a pair of streamers, entertaining the crowd as she rocked to the beat of the Beatles’ “Today is Your Birthday.”
“She loved to dance, especially with my father,” said Morrocco’s youngest daughter Cathy Morrocco Cronin. “She was called the Queen of the ballroom every Thursday at the senior center’s dancing days.”
After the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to her, Morrocco professed her thanks.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said. “I wish the same for every one of you. It’s been a wonderful life. Whew, this old lady has to sit down.”
“I cannot tell you how overwhelmed with joy she was,” said Cronin. “It was a total surprise to her and she had no clue. All of her family was here and we are all so proud of her and her accomplishments. Today is just more than I can imagine.”
Cronin said her mother volunteered at the senior center every day until the pandemic forced its closure.
“It was her whole life for 30 years,” said Cronin. “She wasn’t there just to talk to people, she was there to work. She was an active worker-bee.”
“The Peabody Senior Center has made me what I am today,” Morrocco said.
Cronin said her mother received many honors and awards, the two most meaningful ones being the 1997 Peter A. Torigian Peabody Person of the Year award and the 2011 Peabody Community Spirit award.
Morrocco was born in Salem on Aug. 10, 1920, the same year the 19th Amendment was ratified giving women the right to vote.
She graduated from Salem High in 1937 and then worked at Sylvania, where she met her husband, Johnny. They married in 1944 and spent 48 years as husband and wife until Johnny’s death in 1992. They raised three children, sons Jackie and Jimmy, and Cathy, whom Morrocco fondly calls “her little wonders.”
Cronin said her mother served on many charitable and community-based boards. A grandmother of four, Morrocco was also a long-time volunteer at the North Shore Music Theatre.
Cronin said her family is grateful to Kaplan and the senior center for throwing the party.
“Kaplan is just wonderful, they give great care and support to all of their residents, and they put this entire day together, which was so special,” she said. “I can’t thank them enough and all of the people from the senior center for making this possible.”
When asked for the secret of her longevity, Morrocco’s answer was brief.
“Good Italian genes.”
