Birthday wishes for 108-year-old Ronkonkoma woman whose long life secret is to stay worry-free 

Mary Papilon has had the kind of long, healthy life that many aspire to. And, at 108, she continues to exceed expectations. 

On Thursday, family and friends gathered to celebrate the belated birthday of one of Suffolk's oldest citizens at the Brookwood on the Lake senior complex clubhouse in Ronkonkoma.  

Following a news conference, family and friends surrounded her, shared trays of food, brought her gifts, including scratch-off lottery tickets, and presented her with at least two birthday cakes. 

When asked her secret to a long life, Papilon simply said: "Don't worry." 

Henrietta Dobin, of North Woodmere, who was believed to be the oldest resident on Long Island, died at 111 in September 2022.

Papilon was born on Aug. 3, 1916, in the Bronx to Italian immigrant parents. While she was an only child, she went on to produce an extensive family, including four children, seven grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. 

Regina Giglio, 70, of Port Jefferson, Papilon’s daughter, says that at a young age her mother was a seamstress. Later in her life, she transitioned into a housekeeper at Central Islip State Hospital.

What Giglio cherishes most about her mother is her compassion.

"She's very loving, very easy going, most of these people I know, they're complaining about their parents," Giglio said. "She's just easy going, she always has good aids and they never complained about her."

Giglio says her mother values her physical activity and that contributes to her good health.

"She doesn't take any medicine, that's number one," Giglio said. "She's very active, she didn't drive when she was young. Until she was 50, she always walked everywhere."

At first, Giglio says her mother felt Brookwood on the Lake was "too old for her," but now Papilon loves her community and enjoys the company.

She attends bingo twice a week and Giglio takes her by the beach to see the water. 

Being one of many great-grandchildren, Aliza Butruch, 28, has plenty of favorite memories with Papilon.

"She’s my best friend," Butruch said at a news conference. "Just her making me homemade ravioli and her coming over to my house on Christmas Eve, because I used to be a big Justin Bieber fan, I used to talk about him with her."

Describing her great-grandmother’s personality, Butruch says Papilon is very lighthearted.

"She's funny, she's goofy, she's smart, she sings in Italian, she speaks Italian," Butruch said.  

Al Giglio, 79, of Bay Shore, Papilon’s son, said his mom enjoys painting as she paints  with her caregiver. 

"She just used to eat her food, eat her vegetables, never smoked, never drank, just incredible,” he said.

Papilon’s granddaughter, Lorraine Williams, 53, said eight years ago, her grandmother became ill and her family started to believe Papilon was not going to make it to 100. Yet, she managed to defy the odds. 

"Whenever you'd ask her what's her secret, she'd always say, no worries, she truly lived her life without worrying so much," Williams said. "When you think about how much stress we have in our lives, she really has chosen to live a life where she wouldn't really allow things to get to her."