Citrus Heights council recognizes 108-year-old resident

By Sara Beth Williams–
The Citrus Heights City Council sang “Happy Birthday” to Gertrude Irene Thomas on Wednesday, in honor of her 108th birthday.

During the City Council meeting on Feb. 26, two days before Thomas’ birthday, Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa led the council and audience in a birthday song after reading a proclamation issued by the city. The wheelchair-bound centenarian was then joined by loved ones, city staff, and council members for a commemorative photo.

“Gertrude doesn’t hear so well, but she has all her mental faculties. Shouldn’t we all be so lucky?” the mayor said.

Thomas has been in the news more than once, with The Rio Linda News covering her 104th birthday. Thomas moved to Citrus Heights when she was 107.

Thomas was born in Roundup, Montana, on Feb. 28, 1917, in a little cabin in the hills, 18 miles from the nearest town. Thomas, one of six family members, grew up in a family of “dry farmers” who grew their own food, raised animals, and maintained a working farm.

In 1928, the family moved to Pullman, Washington, where Thomas graduated high school and college. Later, Thomas met her husband Floyd Thomas, and they married in 1937 in Oregon, built a home and raised five children.

In 1957 the Thomases moved to Rio Linda, where she lived until September 2024, when she moved to Citrus Heights. Her family has grown to 11 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and
15 great-great-grandchildren, with another on the way, the city said.

The city’s proclamation reads in part, “Gertrude devoted her life to others, including volunteering for Operation Christmas Child, Union Gospel Mission in Sacramento, and working on election boards. She was a charter member of the First Baptist Church of Elverta, which her husband helped build, and an active member at the first Southern Baptist Church Rio Linda. She taught Sunday school for many years.”

The proclamation also states that Thomas’ secret to her longevity is to “love and serve the Lord and to be happy.”

Thomas continued a celebration on March 1 with family and friends during a birthday party at Brookhaven Care Home in Citrus Heights.