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Ruskin Man Turns 100

Photo by LOIS KINDLE

Oscar Puffinburger of Ruskin celebrated his 100th birthday at two parties held in his honor Dec. 4 and 5. More than 300 family members and friends turned out to express their love and appreciation.

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By LOIS KINDLE

lkindle@tampatrib.com

Published: January 14, 2009

RUSKIN - Every Friday and Saturday, Oscar Puffinburger sits on the porch of the Angel Attic thrift shop in Ruskin, greeting the mostly down-and-out people who come for a bargain or two. Beside him is a box of free toys, which he offers to children who stop by with their parents.

"We call him keeper of the porch," said Paula Sabo, who coordinates the activities at the attic and Community Cupboard. Both are ministries of Calvary Lutheran Church in Apollo Beach. "He just showed up one day four years ago when we started the attic and sat in that rocking chair on the porch. He greets people, moves clothes around and keeps that box of toys filled beside him."

Puffinburger turned 100 Jan. 5. Beloved by his friends at the church and at Chula Vista Landing, where he lives, the Ruskin resident celebrated his centennial at parties given by both groups. More than 300 well-wishers showed up, including 28 relatives.

"This is an amazing time for Oscar and his family," said son-in-law Eddie Leon. "Since becoming a member of this family 24 years ago, I have had the honor of seeing him age gracefully. I have always admired his sense of compassion for others and his passion for serving the Lord."

Puffinburger has inspired many, Leon said. "It was evident by the number of friends that attended the two celebration events. Year after year, as I attended all of his birthday celebrations - I could not believe 98 - I began telling people that they modeled the Energizer Bunny after Oscar. Now we are at the 100-year mark, and he still has quite a bit of spunk left in him.

"What I took away from these celebrations was a picture of what it looks like to love who you are and enjoy what you are doing for others."

Many in the community agree.

"There are a lot of people who turn 100," Sabo said. "And then there's Oscar. I've known him more than 30 years, and I've never heard anyone say they don't like him.

"He's such a sweetheart. What I admire about him is his commitment to his faith and to the ministry of the church. Even at his age, he attends almost all of our functions and events."

"Oscar is the type of person who'd give you the shirt off his back even if he didn't have another," said Bonnie Rousten, a friend since the 1980s. "He's an angel."

He's not just a hit with the ladies.

"I really can't explain him in words," said Charles Stumpf, a friend of Puffinburger's for a quarter-century. "He's just a loveable man."

"Oscar is an inspiration not only in his physical presence but also in his spiritual presence," said the Rev. Jack Palzer, Puffinburger's pastor. "To me, he's the image of Christ in this world through his example of care, compassion and love for family, church and community."

Born in Points, W.Va., Puffinburger and his twin brother, Irwin, worked on their father's peach orchard and farm with nine other siblings. Everyone pitched in back then, Puffinburger said. "We raised everything we ate, including pigs and cattle. The only things we ever bought were salt, pepper and sugar. My mother made all our clothes."

After finishing eighth grade, Puffinburger went to work for his dad full time.

"There weren't any high schools in West Virginia then," he said. At age 18, Puffinburger left home, worked at an electrical wiring mill in Ambridge, Pa., for 14 years and then purchased a garage and filling station in Rochester, Pa. He later sold it and went to work as a mechanic for a Ford Motors garage, also in Rochester.

His first car was a 1929 Ford Roadster, with a rumble seat.

"I had it only three weeks and somebody stole it," he said. "Never did get it back."

Puffinburger moved to Ruskin in 1967 to escape the snow. He worked at the old Dewey's Service Center in Sun City Center until he retired in the mid-1970s.

Puffinburger has survived all of his brothers and sisters, except one - a younger sister who lives in a nursing home in Winchester, W.Va. He also has outlived two of his seven children. Twice married, he's the patriarch of a family of 14 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

His second wife, Edith, had seven children from a previous marriage. Since her death in 1996, he has lived alone in a modestly appointed home in Ruskin. Her picture is among scores of family photos covering its walls.

"I haven't had a girlfriend since my wife died," he said.

But being alone doesn't keep this man down.

Puffinburger still drives and plays bingo every week at the Ruskin Senior Center. But he has had to cut back on some of his former activities. For 32 years - until he was 93 - he mowed the grass at Calvary, and he worked as lead usher there until 2005. A charter member of the church, he served on its first council for many years and delivered Meals on Wheels until a few years ago.

In the past four years, Puffinburger has missed only one day of porch-sitting at Angel Attic.

"I had to renew my driver's license," he said.

A lifelong Democrat, Puffinburger said the president he most admired was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the first he voted for.

He has vivid memories of the Great Depression.

"I was one of the lucky ones," he said. "I was a mechanic and never out of work.

"The country's in bad shape right now, but I know how bad it really could get, especially for old people. I have high hopes that our new president will turn things around like FDR."

The centenarian attributes three things to his longevity: faith, moderate living and maintaining a positive outlook.

"Focus on the good things in life rather than the bad," he said. "That's how to stay happy. And only take on what you can handle, and that's it."

Is there anything else he'd like to impart?

"No, not really," he said. "I never did take myself too seriously."

A CENTURY OF CHANGE

When Oscar Puffinburger was born on Jan. 5, 1909, life was vastly different from today.

U.S. PRESIDENT: Theodore Roosevelt was leaving office; William Taft was about to be sworn in.

AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY: 47 years

AVERAGE WAGE: 22 cents an hour

LITERACY RATE: Only two in 10 adults could read or write.

AVERAGE PRICES:

Gallon of gas

4 cents

Loaf of bread

3 cents

Pound of coffee

15 cents

Dozen eggs

14 cents

Gallon of milk

29 cents

Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553. To view a photo gallery, go to South Shore.TBO.com and enter the search words Oscar Turns 100.

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