Hospital honours volunteer on her 105th birthday

Even turning 105 can’t slow down diminutive dynamo Dorrie Aber Novek as she wheels her mail cart around Memorial Regional Hospital. The hospital honored her 38 years of service with a birthday party and cake.

Aber Novek feels volunteering is important. She sees it as a way to give back and counts herself as fortunate, lucky and blessed. She has survived colon cancer, two husbands and seven siblings. Today her friends are all younger than her. She acknowledges that it would be difficult to find friends her own age.
Her 77-year-old daughter, Audrey Steinhauer, attended the party. She is always amazed by her mother’s energy and mental acuity. Steinhauer says people are always surprised to learn her mother’s age. You don’t meet people her age very often, if ever. To see her in action, getting around on her own easily and handling her duties with diligence, Steinhauer is inspired by her mother who is able to live independently in a regular condo.


Aber Novek attributes her longevity to her lifestyle. She walks everywhere, revealing that rom the time she was a very young girl in England, her family never had a car. She has never driven a car and has always walked anywhere she needed to go.
She watches her diet, avoiding too many sweets or too much fat but shares that she indulges in cookies every day. Her favorite are chocolate chips. She has never allowed herself to be overweight and she eats only small meals. She did indulge in a piece of cake on this special occasion. Using only reading glasses, Aber Novek reads the entire newspaper every day and works its’ crossword puzzle.
The hospital chose this milestone occasion to honor their long-time volunteer. She is an inspiration to many who see how she is still able to be a contributing member of society with a sunny outlook and friends wherever she goes and they know they too can enjoy their later years.