MCH Resident Marks 100th Birthday

Family, friends and Monroe Community Hospital staff gathered Sunday to celebrate a remarkable milestone as Dorie Winner marked her 100th birthday surrounded by four generations of her family.

Although Winner officially turns 100 on June 30, the celebration brought together her six children, several grandchildren and a great-grandchild for an afternoon filled with stories and memories spanning a century.

Born Doris Mae Langenbacher in Rochester on June 30, 1926, Winner grew up in Rochester, attending Catholic school before studying interior decorating at what is now Rochester Institute of Technology, then known as the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute. It was here that she met her future husband, Roger. She later built a successful career as an interior decorator, first with Williams Brothers in Lockport before opening her own business, Royalton Craftsman Interiors and Design, with her husband, Roger.

Throughout her life, Winner balanced her career while raising her children, creating a home defined by love, hard work and creativity. "She ​a created a home built on love and expectations," her son, Scott Winner, said. "She was and is just a good-natured person, a homemaker who would sing with her children, find humor even the most difficult situations and was resourceful, cooking, baking and sewing clothes for her six children.”

She was recently featured on the news and during an interview with a reporter from WORK-TV Channel 8 on the secret to turning 100, Dorie Winner offered an answer that drew smiles from those gathered around her.

"No secret. I didn't know enough to die. That's all," she said. "I just keep reading."

Dorie has been a voracious reader her entire life. 

For her oldest son, Steve Winner, the celebration was about more than a birthday. It was an opportunity for generations of family to gather in one place and honor a woman whose influence shaped their lives, bringing photos of Dorie throughout the decades, along with a family poem and other items to mark the occasion.

"It's been quite the adventure all these years. But I'm glad we're able to do this. It's pretty nice," Steve Winner said, adding that, "It's not every day you get to turn 29 again, again ... multiple times."

Steve, who visits his mother several times a week, also praised the care she has received at Monroe Community Hospital.

"This facility is outstanding," he said. "This is a tremendous community asset. A lot of the community doesn't even know it's here. It's a fantastic asset for the community."