104-Year-Old Woman Is Granted Her Lifelong Wish Of Meeting A Penguin

June 9, 2022

A 104-year-old woman from Connecticut checked off a wish on her bucket list when she got the chance to hold a penguin.

woman holds penguin dream
Bertha Komor holds a penguin

Bertha Komor is a resident at Village Gate of Farmington retirement community.

On June 1, her lifelong dream of holding a penguin come true, thanks to the Mystic Aquarium and Twilight Wish CT.

"I never thought it would happen," Komor told NECN.

"I didn't expect this. Best part was petting him and seeing him close up," she said.

Ashley Waddell, the enrichment coordinator at Village Gate of Farmington, is the one who reached out to the aquarium and the Twilight Wish Foundation — an organization that works to grant senior citizens' wishes.

"She's just an amazing person. To tell me she wanted to touch a penguin, I had to make that dream come true," Waddell said.

Komor's daughter and granddaughter were also in on the surprise.

"I am just so excited for her and just so happy that she was able to have this wish come true and to just have been in our life for as long as she has," granddaughter Karen Rivkin said.

Watch the video below.