Woman turns 106 at Queens nursing home

Hillside Manor Nursing Home resident Mary Goss celebrated her 106th birthday on Friday, May 19, marking the occasion with a party at the nursing home.
Goss was born in Brooklyn in 1900 to parents who had come from North Carolina. She also had two brothers.
In 1919, Goss started a 37-year career working as a mail sorter for the United States Post Office. Because of her work, Goss, who was the first black female sorter at the Grand Central Terminal Post Office in Manhattan, has earned two service awards.
Following her retirement from the Post Office in 1956, Goss became a teaching assistant at P.S. 11 in Brooklyn, where she remained for 11 years.
Although Goss never married and has no blood relatives, many lifelong friends who consider themselves to be her family attended her birthday party on Thursday, May 18, which fell during National Nursing Home Week.
Goss has lived at Hillside Manor, which is located at 182-15 Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, for about the last two years and is currently the oldest resident there. She is an active member of the community and attends weekly Protestant church services. She also frequently goes to parties there and has been a member of its choir.
“She truly blesses us,” said Steven Rossi, administrator of the Hillside Manor Nursing Home. “We do best when we have people like Mary Goss.”
In the past, Goss has attributed her longevity to never being married or having children, as well as a daily shot of brandy.