On Tuesdays, the phone at Tuscany Tavern starts ringing shortly after 5 p.m. “Will she be there tonight?” the callers ask. They’re hoping to be seated in the tiny North Plymouth restaurant next to the star attraction: Betty Thornton, a vivacious, comical, effusive and highly entertaining “party girl,” who just turned 101.
“For the regulars, it’s dinner and a show when Betty is here,” says restaurant server and longtime family friend Mark Rice. “She comes here once, maybe twice a week. We put her in the corner at table 8 so everyone can see her. They all love her.”
“Table 8 and don’t be late,” blurts a bubbly Betty.
Accompanied by her daughter Janet, the celebratory centenarian loves going out on the town. With her hair and nails perfectly prepared and wearing the latest fashions from Talbots, Betty is ready for a fun evening, enjoying a bite to eat and interacting with friends or anyone else who wants to chat.
Janet rolls her eyes and deadpans, “The fact that she doesn’t know a soul doesn’t stop her.”
“I enjoy people and love to have a good time,” Betty says.
At 101, Betty is surprisingly spry and quick to join in on any conversation. Though a little hard of hearing, the diminutive dowager can keep up with talk around the tavern, adding her own clever witticisms and wry comments to gales of laughter from other diners.
“Betty is a spitfire,” says restaurant regular Chris Van Ness. “She’s always looking for a party. There’s plenty of good banter and she’s as sharp as a tack. I hope I’m as quick as her when I’m that age.”
Van Ness and his wife Kristen try to time their “date night” dinners to be with Betty and Janet. They met the mother and daughter about five years ago and became fast friends despite the age difference. The young couple has school-aged children.
“Betty shares a birthday – May 27 – with our youngest, Isabel, who is 11,” Kristen says. “We tell her that only the best people were born on that day.”
During dinner, Betty likes to relax with a glass of wine or two, though that’s not what she wants to be drinking.
“I like Dewar’s and water,” she says. “That’s my secret to a long life.”
Born and raised in Rockland, Betty met her future husband Jim while visiting an aunt in Rochester, N.Y. A few days later, she returned home and was surprised when he showed up on the doorstep of her parent’s home. They married and settled in Rockland after a whirlwind romance.
“Whenever we argued, I would always remind him that he drove 450 miles to be with me,” Betty says. “He was a good guy.”
Betty and Jim raised four children – Jimmy, Velma, Wayne and Janet – then worked as a secretary in the Rockland Public Schools. After moving to Kingston, she took a job at Filene’s Department Store in Independence Mall, now Kingston Collection. Though decidedly older, she became close friends with the teachers in Rockland and sales staff at the store.
“Mom gets invited to reunion lunches for both,” Janet says. “We get calls all the time asking if she can join them at whatever restaurant they are going to be at.”
After her father died, Janet moved to Kingston and eventually purchased the family home so she could take care of her mother. “I went with the house,” Betty quips.
“We get along well,” Janet says. “We go on cruises together a lot. I’m retired but still work part-time. Sometimes she comes with me to work or I drop her off at adult daycare, where she plays bingo or enjoys her time with others. Then we make plans to go out to dinner at a local restaurant.”
While Betty is definitely the star attraction, the playbill also includes Janet and Mark. It’s a package deal at Tuscany Tavern, where the three clown, cajole and kibitz away the evening. Mark’s late parents were friends with Betty, and he often accompanied them on vacations to Maine.
“There was one night when they really tied one on,” he recalls. “I had Mom on one arm and Betty on the other to steady them both as we left. The next day, my mother goes, ‘That was a lot of fun.’ I said, ‘Yeah, for you and Betty!’ They were so cute and the best of friends.”
Betty likes to dance, though needs the aid of a walker these days. She has a bad knee that doctors have been wanting to replace for 20 years. “Mom just said no,” Janet notes. “She didn’t want the surgery.”
Betty believes she has lived this long because of her positive attitude. She always tries to look on the bright side of life and enjoys herself every day. That means having dessert after dinner.
“Mom gets the same thing every time,” Janet says, then turns to her mother and asks: “What do you say when it’s time for dessert?”
With a big smile, Betty answers: “Tiramisu, I love you!”
Dave Kindy is a longtime Plymouth resident who writes for the Washington Post, Boston Globe, National Geographic, Smithsonian and other publications. He can be reached at davidkindy1832@gmail.com.