When Henry Giroud moved to Chico at the age of 18, one of the first things he did was join the Knights of Columbus.

That was 82 years ago.

“I was persuaded to join by the Grand Knight, John T. Donohue,” said the centenarian with a wry smile and a cheerful laugh. “I’ve enjoyed the whole thing. It’s a great organization.”

Members of the Knights of Columbus, parishioners of St. John the Baptist Parish, friends and family were among those helping Giroud to celebrate his 100th birthday in early March.

Giroud was born in Algeria on March 9, 1902. His father was a civil engineer for the French government. When Giraud was five years old, his father died of typhoid fever, so he moved with his mother and sister to a rural town in France to live with an uncle.

When he was eight and nine, Giroud worked on a ranch.

“In those days, every kid worked,” he said. “My sister and I usually tended cows or sheep or something.”

Coming through Ellis Island, Giroud and his family arrived in the United States in 1913, when he was 11 years old. His sister had an infection, so they remained in quarantine for a time.

He remembers being given sodacrackers to eat—a real treat, since he had never eaten them before.

They moved to Cascade, Iowa to live with his Uncle Louie. He attended a German and a parochial school, and worked many jobs, mostly on a ranch with livestock.

His mother’s illness brought the Giroud family to Chico, where his first job was working in a mattress factory. In 1925, he went to work for Pacific Gas and Electric–where he would stay until he retired 42 years

later—starting as a collector and working his way up to customer services representative in charge of the customer service department.

San Francisco was the site of his marriage to his wife of 62 years, Leslie, who died in 1995.

“The saddest part of my whole life was losing her,” he said. “We were really happy.”

Giroud’s daughter, Janie Smith, who also lives in Chico, calls her dad “very well-rounded.”

He’s taken “really good care of his mind, his body and his soul,” she said. “His sense of humor is the focal point, and his work ethic was always there. He was always building something or working outside–even today, he grows lettuce on his balcony.

“He was always there for us kids (Smith and her brother, Jim Giroud of Fair Oaks),” she said, adding with a grin, “but he also toed the line.”

Giroud remained active after his retirement, working part-time at Gate’s Resale-Army Surplus in Chico until two years ago.

“I love working here,” he told a reporter on his 90th birthday. “There are so many faces; I like to meet the public. And there are all the (college) kids that work here. They are all so kind to me.”

Father Terry Fulton, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Chico, says Giroud has “a charming personality.” “He’s always in a very good mood,” he said. “He just has an excellent attitude about life. He’s truly one of the saints of the church.”

“He’s a very prayerful and spiritual man,” added Salvatorian Father Mike Newman, director of Chico’s Newman Catholic Center, who procured a papal blessing from the Vatican for Giroud on his 100th birthday. “He has always been very close to the church, and very supportive.”

Giroud received the blessing during the monthly Mass and dinner of the Knights of Columbus’ John T. Donohue General Assembly of the Fourth Degree, held at the Newman Center on March 6.

“I never felt better in my whole life than I did that night,” Giroud noted. “I was just plain happy–not a sore spot in my body. I was thrilled, really thrilled.”

What are Giroud’s secrets for a long and healthy life?

He has two: the first from America, the second from France.

“I take (Shaklee) vitamins every day,” he said. “And I sip my wine. I don’t drink it.”

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