Alumni Turn 100—and Then Some!
Two Rutgers centenarians celebrated major milestone birthdays—Elizabeth (Betty) Barrett turned 105 and Bob Archibald is celebrating his 102nd birthday.
Born in Cleveland the same year that women in the U.S. gained the right to vote, Barrett grew up in northeastern New Jersey, enlisted after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and served as a flight instructor in WWII.
Barrett graduated from Rutgers University in 1973 in her early 50's with a degree in social service while working full time and caring for her eight children. She has 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren, and has been a passionate aviator since her time in the military.
The Virginian-Pilot pointed out that she is actually "older than sliced bread" in a story that ran in advance of her Dec. 1 birthday.
“She always stood up for what was right, which is what she taught us too,” said her second-youngest daughter, June Barrett-McDaniels. “My mom has had a really good life.”
World War II Veteran Met Wife at Rutgers
Archibald, a 1948 Rutgers graduate who celebrates his birthday today, came from a Rutgers family. His father, Lauren Sinclair Archibald, was a 1917 Rutgers graduate and World War I veteran who attended school with Paul Robeson.
Archibald was a high school senior when Pearl Harbor was attacked. “When it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, gee, I’m too young,’” he said in an interview for his 100th birthday. "The war will be over before it was time to go in."
He enrolled at Rutgers in the fall of 1942 but enlisted in the Navy that December, setting his sights on becoming a pilot. He was called up in June 1943, and went through almost two years of often dangerous flight training to earn his wings on May 1, 1945. He described it as the “proudest moment of my life. I think without a doubt it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
Archibald was not deployed overseas before the war ended later that year. He later returned to Rutgers to finish his degree.
“The best thing that ever happened to me at Rutgers was I met my wife,” he says. He and Wilma VanderMay, a 1946 Douglass College graduate, were married for 68 years. They raised three children. She died in 2016 at the age of 91. Archibald now has 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Talib Morgan, chair of the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA), says the centenarians are tremendous representatives of the university’s history and spirit.
“These two alumni above the age of 100 are remarkable citizens of the vast nation of Rutgers alumni,” says Morgan, a 1996 graduate of Rutgers University-Newark who also holds an MBA from Rutgers. “We would like to wish them the best of wishes and a sincere and heartfelt happy birthday.''
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