Even at the spry age of 100, Irene Langness remains quick with a quip and a step.

Such maneuvers come naturally. Irene was a gifted ballroom dancer for most of her long and fulfilling life.

“Well, she keeps me on my toes,” said Lisa Poe, a registered nurse who keeps a close eye on the recently-turned centenarian at Auburn’s Parkside Retirement Community.

Appearing fit and sharp, Irene reached the milestone birthday last Thursday, Dec. 17. A large gathering of family and friends, some of them arriving from afar, officially celebrated her 100th birthday with a dinner party on Dec. 6.

“I’ve been pretty lucky,” said Irene, part of the Parkside center for a few years and a longtime Puget Sound resident. “I don’t know if I have any secrets (to longevity). I just refuse to go. Being Irish, I’m so stubborn.”

A cancer survivor in her latter years, Irene overcame personal and physical struggles, including a near-death episode when she was hospitalized and lost one of her kidneys in 1974.

“It was a beautiful experience, so peaceful, something I will never forget,” she said. “Once you have one of those, you’re not scared anymore.”

Born and raised in Nebraska, Irene was one of eight children, the youngest of three girl, who lived on a cattle ranch during the Great Depression. The family didn’t have much in those days, but shared the simplest pleasures and home-made entertainment.

“We had this big farmhouse,” Irene recalled. “We would roll up the rug, invite everyone and dance.”

In 1937, Irene and her family – husband Ross Still and three daughters, Roma, Aloma and Sue – moved to the Northwest for a new start and better life. They established roots in Seahurst.

The couple divorced. Irene later married Wes Langness, who owned a Burien pharmacy. Irene worked as a retail clerk at J.C. Penney in downtown Seattle for 18 years.

A strong and independent woman, Irene enjoyed pinochle, tea parties and her many friends. A gifted seamstress, she is famous for her world-class cinnamon rolls, her love of family, garages sales and of course, dancing.

Mention the waltz, and Irene’s eyes light up.

“I simply loved to dance,” she said. “It’s just what I did.”

Irene maintained her own home until she was 93 when she moved to Parkside.

“Her home has always been most interesting because of her collection of antiques and her eclectic style of décor,” said Sue Tingstad, 73, of Coupeville, Irene’s lone surviving daughter. “She still maintains boxes of material in case she gets the urge to sew. She has designed and sewn her own clothes for as long as I can remember, just as she did for her three girls when we were growing up. I had very few store-bought clothes.”

Friends say her love of life, family and friends keep her going.

“She’s an amazing lady,” said Auburn’s Vonnie Gooch, whose mother, Violet shared a longtime friendship with Irene. “It’s her spirit. She’s always fun to be around. She has a good sense of humor.”

Irene has outlived most of her family and friends. Her oldest and late daughter, Roma, married Mel Lindbloom, the first president of Green River Community College. Lindbloom is living today.

Irene has a son-in-law, Jack Tingstad; a stepson, Jimmy Langness. She is proud of her

three daughters, their husbands, her eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.