The nine centenarians and one soon-to-be centenarian who live at EagleCrest senior living center in Roseville have lived rich and varied lives.

June Foote, 100, started tap dancing at 60. Richard Woodcock, 102, helped develop guidance systems for the Apollo space flights. Denise Copeland, 101, wrote a weekly mystery story for a French newspaper. John “Jack” Hougen, 101, had a distinguished military career.

All were honored during a ceremony at EagleCrest on Monday, which just happened to be Helen Grafstrom’s 105th birthday.

Campus Administrator Susie Fisher said the sheer number of residents who had reached 100, including three who are 105, was “incredibly rare and meaningful.”

“Their lives remind us what resilience, perseverance, love and community truly mean,” Fisher said. “In a world that moves faster every day, it is rare and powerful to slow down and honor those who have seen it all: from handwritten letters to smartphones, from horse-drawn carriages to space travel, from black-and-white photographs to high-definition screens.”

Sophie Anderson, 105

Four generations of Andersons gathered for a photo with Sophie Anderson, who turns 106 on April 6. Anderson posed with her son-in-law Steve Anderson-Herman; grandson Jonathan Anderson, and great-granddaughter Vivienne Anderson, 3 months.

What’s the secret to living a long life?

“Clean living,” Anderson said.

Anderson, who lived in Owatonna for much of her life, loved to read and play bridge and Scrabble, her daughter, Roberta Dale, said.

“She played bridge here until probably about a year ago,” Dale said.

“I love bridge,” Anderson said. “Bridge first, Scrabble next.”

Anderson, who has five children, 11 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren, was famous for being able to perfectly fillet a walleye during family gatherings at the Rocky Point Resort on Lake of the Woods, family members said.

Anderson was born in Sprague, Manitoba, but moved to an aunt and uncle’s house in Roseau, Minn., after her mother died in 1924, right before Sophie turned 4. Arriving in Roseau is her earliest memory, she said.

Related Articles

Videos show deadly Minneapolis shooting and political leaders reach different conclusions

From frigid quiet to outraged sorrow, a few hours on Minneapolis street where agents killed man

Immigrant families protest at Texas facility housing 5-year-old boy, father detained in Minnesota

The man killed by a US Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis was an ICU nurse, family says

Thousands rally against immigration enforcement in subzero Minnesota temperatures

“It was nice weather,” she said. “My aunt was a fresh-air fiend, and I slept on the porch the first night there. She was so fun. My cousin, Lillian, gave me a beautiful doll.”

Ruth Rudolph credits eating healthfully and staying active with helping her reach 102.

“Lots of vegetables and fruits,” said Rudolph, who grew up on a dairy farm outside River Falls, Wis. “I don’t eat a lot of desserts. I had an occasional glass of wine, but I was never a smoker.”

Before she moved to EagleCrest, Rudolph was an active volunteer at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and helped out in the day care at Coon Rapids Methodist Church, she said.

“Just keep active,” she said. “Try and keep active and do what you can do. That’s the main thing, I guess. Keeping active is what kept me going.”

Helen Grafstrom, 105

Helen Grafstrom, 105, center, celebrates her birthday joined by, from left at top, her great-granddaughter Maren Grafstrom, great-granddaughter Lillian Grafstrom and grandson Charles Grafstrom during the EagleCrest senior living community’s Centenarian celebration in Roseville on Jan. 19, 2026. (Talia McWright / Pioneer Press)

Sixteen friends and family members came to EagleCrest on Monday to celebrate Grafstrom’s 105th birthday.

“They didn’t plan this party around me, but it just so happens that today is my birthday,” Grafstrom said. “What’s the secret to living to 105? I don’t know, just lucky. I think I lived a pretty good life. You know, I tried to do things right. I never smoked, and I drank very little. A glass of wine once in a while. I was pretty active. I did a lot of volunteer work.”

Grafstrom’s husband, Carlton, died in 2006. Her son, Carlton Jr., died in 1998.

Her grandson, Charles Grafstrom of Lino Lakes, brought his two daughters to the party.

Lillian Grafstrom, 13, said she was happy to get to celebrate her great-grandmother.

“I hope I live that long,” she said. “I think the key is to be surrounded by family and friends.”

John Hougen, 101

John (Jack) Hougen, 101, celebrates his past accomplishments with family and loved ones during EagleCrest senior living community’s Centenarian celebration in Roseville on Jan. 19, 2026. Hougen is a distinguished American veteran who served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. (Talia McWright / Pioneer Press)

Hougen, 101, served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in North Africa and Italy during World War II. He was sent to Officer Training School after D-Day “because they lost so many platoon leaders in the invasion,” he said. Hougen served in Korea and Vietnam, studied international relations at the Army War College, and worked at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where he served as assistant chief of staff for intelligence. He was promoted to colonel in October 1968.

He oversaw Army recruiting, developed training programs and worked with colleges and high schools on Project Ahead before retiring in 1976.

He lived on his own and was still driving until he was 99 years old; he moved into an apartment at EagleCrest in 2024 when he turned 100, said Judith Hougen, one of his three children. He enjoys cigars, but he is not allowed to smoke at EagleCrest, she said.

Hougen said he never thought he would live to be so old. “I always figured I would die somewhere in service,” he said.

“Somehow he made it,” Judith Hougen said. “It’s all about the genes. His dad lived well into his 80s, and his mom died of cancer at 75. The joke is, if you cut my dad open, you’d find 20,000 hot dogs. He never met a processed meat he didn’t like.”

June Foote, 100

June Foote, 100, who picked up tap dancing at 60, smiles during the EagleCrest senior living community’s Centenarian celebration in Roseville on Jan. 19, 2026. The event celebrates 10 Minnesotans 100 and older, reflecting on their lives and accomplishments. (Talia McWright / Pioneer Press)

June Foote’s children joke that their mother spent most of her 100½ years “worrying and fretting about everything under the sun.”

Foote said she “tried to live a nice, good life and eat properly, and didn’t get in too much trouble.”

Her father died when he was 79, and her mother and grandmother died at 80, “so I thought at 80, I’d be going, but I’m still here,” she said. “I can’t walk anymore, though. I’ve got to use this walker, but I have some nice people to help me. They come in twice a day, so I’m not neglected.”

Foote worked as a court clerk in Minneapolis and taught piano lessons. She and her husband, Ray, raised their two children in White Bear Lake; Ray Foote died about 30 years ago, she said.

Related Articles

Joe Soucheray: We need our borders, but you need a better plan, ICE

Homeland Security vastly overstating jail and prison immigration holds, MN Corrections says

Legal referee tosses petition for restraining order against St. Paul mayor

Minnesota statewide strike, economic blackout to protest ICE on Friday

Housing advocates seek ‘Right to Repair’ law on St. Paul’s November ballot

When June Foote was 60, she decided to take up tap dancing.

“She grew up watching and adoring Ginger Rogers, the movies and all that stuff,” daughter Connie Foote said.

“I had piano students who were going to tap dance lessons, and I said, ‘Oh, I always wanted to do that,’” June Foote said. “The mother came and she said, ‘You know, there are some ladies who are doing it. Why don’t you sign up?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m never going to get younger,’ so I did. It was fun.

“Brush, tap, hop. One, two, three. That’s how I remember tap dancing. You had a brush, tap, hop, and you counted one, two, three and then you did it again. See what things you remember?”

Foote is a tea drinker, but she’s frugal, Connie Foote said. “Every day, without fail, she drinks Lipton tea. One bag. All day long. She puts hot water over that same bag over and over. Every day. No milk. No sugar. Every day of our lives.”

Centenarians gather during EagleCrest senior living community’s Centenarian event in Roseville on Jan. 19, 2026. Top row, from left, Rosie Paulson, 99, Richard Woodcock, 102, Arviene Paulu, 105 and Ruth Rudolph, 102. Bottom from left, Denise Copeland, 101, John (Jack) Hougen, 101, Helen Grafstrom, 105, Sophie Anderson, 105, Lucille Fredericksen, 102 and June Foote, 100. (Talia McWright / Pioneer Press)

Other EagleCrest residents honored on Monday included: Arviene Paulu, 105; Lucille Fredericksen, 102; Ruth Rudolph, 102; and Rosie Paulson, 99, who turns 100 on Feb. 5.