Centenarian twins Norma Matthews and Edith Antonecchi have had a long life.<\/p>\n
And they\u2019ve gone through each stage of their lives together.
\n\u201cPeople love that we\u2019re still together,\u201d Norma told The Washington Post. \u201cWe\u2019ve done everything together since the day we were born.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sisters have been there for each other through all the ups and downs of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cEdy was always there for me, and I was always there for her,\u201d Norma said. \u201cWhenever I\u2019d get sick, Edy would somehow know. She\u2019d call me up or come rushing over to make sure I was okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just like every family, it wasn\u2019t always smooth sailing.<\/p>\n
They\u2019d have their sibling rivalries but always got over it.
\n\u201cYou put a penny in your pocket, it doesn\u2019t jingle. You put two pennies in your pocket, they jingle.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was something their grandmother would always tell them. The sisters were born in Revere, Mass., and were raised by a single mom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t have it easy, but we had a lot of fun,\u201d Edy said. \u201cWe made our own fun.\u201d
\nAfter high school, Edy worked as a nurse and Norma worked as a hairdresser. They both got married within three months and later lived near each other for 51 years. They were never more than two cities apart or a bus or train ride away.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first time, we\u2019d be living apart,\u201d Norma said. \u201cSo we decided it was important that we always lived as close as we could to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norma married Charles Matthews on Valentine\u2019s Day in 1943. They raised three children and lost one of their daughters at the age of 2.<\/p>\n
Edy married Leo \u201cChick\u201d Antonecchi three months after her sister got married.
\nEdy and Leo had two sons, one of whom passed away four years ago. Leo died of a car accident in 1994, followed by Charles who had Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Their husbands both passed away within several months of each other.<\/p>\n
After that, the sisters decided to move to Florida together.<\/p>\n
\u201cEdy is more quiet, and Norma is the chatty one,\u201d neighbor Margaret Shaffer said. \u201cIf you take them to a restaurant, Norma is gone \u2014 she has to get up and talk to everyone. But they both light up the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sisters say they have a twin connection. Edy would be able to feel if Norma way sick.<\/p>\n
When Norma would think about calling her sister, the phone would ring with Edy on the other end.
\nAbout 50 people flew into St. Petersburg for their 100th birthday in December 2021. They are kind of like local celebrities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t be without each other,\u201d Norma told Tampa Bay Times.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came together, we go together,\u201d Edy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d do anything for Edy,\u201d said Norma.\u201d She\u2019s my everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Centenarian twins Norma Matthews and Edith Antonecchi have had a long life. And they\u2019ve gone through each stage of their lives together. \u201cPeople love that we\u2019re still… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n