A World War II veteran in Roseville, California, is getting a lot of attention for celebrating his much-anticipated 105th birthday.
Richard Cheevers was born on August 9, 1917, in Lovington, Illinois, to a mother who took care of their home and a father who worked as a cobbler. He was also blessed to have three siblings, 11 Alive reported.
After joining the Air Force in 1937, Cheevers served as an Aircraft Mechanic for the next 30 years. During that time, he was stationed in France and England.
He met his wife, Betty, in 1940 and the couple later married and had three children. She passed away in 1997, and Cheevers eventually relocated to California to live with family.
Now, he has three granddaughters, three great-grandchildren, and a pair of great-great-grandchildren.
The big birthday party happened at the Sterling Court Assisted Living Care facility where everyone joined in the celebration.
Video footage showed Cheevers surrounded by friends and family wearing party hats:
One relative said, “He’s just the best there is… we love him so much and we cherish every single day that we have with him. How could you not when they live 105 years, right?”
Meanwhile, a nurse named Paulette Perfumo said Cheevers wanted Kentucky Fried Chicken as the special meal for his big day, with dark meat, mashed potatoes, and coleslaw.
That wish was granted and delivered.
“Richard’s been a friend of mine for about five years now,” stated Susan Baldridge. “We get to play word search games, so it helps us with kind of getting our brain working every day.”
A few months before Cheevers was born in 1917, the United States officially entered World War I, per History.com.
While celebrating his milestone this week, Cheevers divulged what kept him going for so many years.
“One thing I did differently was I took long walks, every day,” he explained.