Edie Ceccarelli of Willits, oldest person in United States, to celebrate 116th birthday with drive-by parade

Mendocino County native Edie Ceccarelli, the oldest person in the United States, is turning 116 years old in February, and the public is invited to her birthday party.

Ceccarelli, who also holds the distinction as the oldest confirmed Californian in recorded history and the second oldest person on Earth, marks another trip around the sun on Feb. 5. On Feb. 4, her family is throwing a drive-by birthday parade past her home in Willits from 1 to 1:30 p.m.

The parade has become a tradition in the city of about 5,000.

For the last several years, locals in decorated cars have driven the route that passes Holy Spirit Residential Care Home, 414 Grove Street, to wave and wish Ceccarelli a happy birthday.

Ceccarelli was born Edith Recagno in Willits in 1908.

As previously reported in The Press Democrat, her father, Agostino, was an Italian immigrant who worked in lumber, sold groceries from a horse-drawn buggy and helped build portions of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad.

After graduating from Willits Union High School in 1927, she married Elmer “Brick” Keenan in 1933. The couple moved to Santa Rosa, where he worked as a typesetter for The Press Democrat.

The Keenans adopted a daughter, Laureen, who would grow up to marry and have three children. Laureen and her kids all carried a genetic disorder; Edie would outlive them all.

When Brick Keenan retired in 1971, he and Edie returned to Willits. Brick Keenan died in 1984. Edie later married Charles Ceccarelli. They lived happily for just a few years before Charles died in 1990.

These days, Ceccarelli’s memory and awareness have largely slipped away, though family members say she enjoys her meals and being nicely dressed and groomed, according to a 2023 story in The Press Democrat.

Parade participants are encouraged to decorate their cars with signs, balloons, flags and streamers.

To join the parade, take Highway 101 North to exit 568. Turn left onto CA-20 West. Turn right at Baechtel Road, right at E Hill Road and right at Haehl Creek Drive. From there, go straight at the first stop sign at Haehl Creek Drive and Grove Street, then turn left at the second stop sign, continue on Grove Street and look for Edie on the right hand side.