Estela Orue Fernandez was 12 when the deadly “Spanish flu” of 1918 circled the globe. A century later, she is living through another devastating pandemic – this one, much lonelier.
On Wednesday, April 22, Fernandez turned 108 years old. Her family marked the extraordinary milestone by blowing kisses at her through a window pane.
Alvaro Fernandez, 82, greets his mother, Estela Fernandez, on her 108th birthday through the window at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Estela Fernandez at 20 years old in Cuba. Fernandez turned 108 years old in Huntington Beach, CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Estela Fernandez waves to her family on her 108th birthday through the window at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach, CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Alvaro Fernandez, 82, left, greets his mother, Estela Fernandez, on her 108th birthday through the window at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Estela Fernandez at 30 years old in Spain. Fernandez turned 108 years old in Huntington Beach, CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Estela Fernandez pauses for a moment as her family visits on her 108th birthday through the window at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach, CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Estela Fernandez, left, greets her daughter, Estela Fernandez, 74, center, and granddaughter Giselle Fernandez, on her 108th birthday through the window at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Estela Fernandez blows a kiss to her family on her 108th birthday through the window at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach, CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Estela Fernandez blows a kiss to her granddaughter, Elsa Davis, on her 108th birthday through the window at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach, CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Estela Fernandez greets her family on her 108th birthday through the window at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach, CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Estela Fernandez pauses for a moment as her family visits on her 108th birthday through the window at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach, CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Estella Fernandez greets her family on her 108th birthday through the window at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach, CA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Like thousands of other Americans, Fernandez is on “lock down” inside her assisted care facility. Her loved ones cannot enter the building, and she cannot leave it.
Fernandez’s daughter, two sons and two of her six grandchildren converged at Sea Cliff Healthcare in Huntington Beach for a bittersweet celebration.
“I don’t know if she recognized us, but she seemed happy,” said her daughter, also named Estella Fernandez. “It’s hard to tell if she knows us without speaking to her face to face.”
Although remarkably healthy, Fernandez began showing signs of dementia about five years ago. “There is nothing wrong with her body,” her daughter said. “She does not even take any medications.”
Estela Orue grew up in Havana, Cuba. There from Spain on a business trip, Alvaro Fernandez fell in love at first sight with the pretty young woman, he one day would tell his kids. After marrying, the couple settled in Spain.
“My mom missed Cuba and convinced my dad to move back in 1947,” the younger Estela Fernandez said. But a few years later, Fidel Castro came to power in the Cuban Revolution.
Eventually, the couple decided to join their adult children in the United States, choosing La Mirada as their home. Alvaro Fernandez died in 1974.
“My mom had a great life,” her daughter said. “It’s very, very sad that we couldn’t really spend her birthday with her. But there’s nothing we can do but make the best of the situation.”
