Rose Adrianna Leigh-Manuell, of West Sayville, likely the oldest Sayville-area resident, died peacefully, according to family, on Feb. 4 at the age of 107.
Born on Dec. 31, 1918, one month after World War I ended, Leigh-Manuell would live in the Sayville area her entire life, building lasting bonds with friends, neighbors, and an ever-growing family that included four children, 18 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren, and 21 great-great-grandchildren.
“Family was everything to her,” said grandson Frank Tanza.
And while she had seen many technological advances throughout her life, Leigh-Manuell always stuck with disposable cameras so she could have up-to-date pictures of family members at each party.
“She was a big advocate of the disposable camera,” Tanza said. “Always had one so she could make sure she had a picture of everyone on her fridge. The top of it was every single one of us.”
In 2020, Leigh-Manuell made national headlines when she survived the COVID-19 virus at age 101. Born during the Spanish flu pandemic and surviving COVID, Leigh-Manuell would joke that her secret to a long and happy life was her Golden Oreos and a positive outlook.
“While there is so much bad, there is far more good,” Tanza said he learned from his grandmother. “And if you have a positive outlook and a positive attitude, then good things will happen.”
Tanza said Leigh-Manuell kept this positive outlook even in the months leading to her death, joking to family members that she’d want to attend her 90th high school graduation this year, but that she’d be the only person in attendance.
Leigh-Manuell was born at home on Atlantic Avenue in West Sayville to parents Tillie and Cornelius Sanders and grew up helping her father, a fisherman, nail crates shut after fish and ice were unloaded into them.
Even at an early age, hard work and family ties were close values for Leigh-Manuell, Tanza said. After graduating from Sayville High School in 1936 with good grades and plenty of friends, Leigh-Manuell would save money to marry Darrell Leigh-Manuell on Nov. 21, 1940, in a double wedding with her sister, Josephine, and her husband, Peter Sluiter.
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