'This is my life': At 103, Ormond vet donates handmade dollhouse to Easterseals

DAYTONA BEACH  — While it might be accurate to call it a dollhouse, the intricately crafted structure that now adorns the lobby of the Easterseals Autism Center of Excellence represents much more than that to its creator, 103-year-old World War II veteran Ed Vrona.

“This is my life,” said Vrona, a resident of the Aberdeen At Ormond mobile home community who donated the three-story eight-room handmade dollhouse on Thursday to the Easterseals Autism Center, where it immediately generated smiles on children and adults alike.

Vrona’s gift was celebrated at a dedication ceremony that included a serenade from a chorus of youngsters who also offered their own handmade thank you cards for both the dollhouse and his military service in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

Youngsters give Ed Vrona, a 103 year old World War II vet from Ormond Beach, a big thank you card they made, for donating a dollhouse he built for the Easterseals Autism Center of Excellence in Daytona Beach.
Youngsters give Ed Vrona, a 103 year old World War II vet from Ormond Beach, a big thank you card they made, for donating a dollhouse he built for the Easterseals Autism Center of Excellence in Daytona Beach.

Dollhouse was labor of love a decade in the making

To make the dollhouse, Vrona and his wife of 68 years, Georgie, spent a decade starting in 1996 at work on the project, scouring doll shows and hobby shops from Chicago to Key West for accessories and building materials.

Georgie died on Christmas Eve eight years ago, but the dollhouse endures as a testament to her passion for recreating a model of the 1930s home where she was raised in Stickney, Illinois, and others where the couple later raised a family.

Ed Vrona, a 103-year-old World War II vet, looks at the dollhouse he spent 10 years building with his late wife, Georgie. This week, Vrona donated the three-story eight-room house to the Easterseals Autism Center of Excellence in Daytona Beach.
Ed Vrona, a 103-year-old World War II vet, looks at the dollhouse he spent 10 years building with his late wife, Georgie. This week, Vrona donated the three-story eight-room house to the Easterseals Autism Center of Excellence in Daytona Beach.

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Its design and construction were a team effort.

Georgie made the tiny area rugs in the bedroom and living room. Ed assembled the roof out of 960 shingles, added by hand 10 at a time. There are nine different colors in the paint scheme, with the exterior blend of teal and coral inspired by a Victorian home that the couple admired in Key West.

Inside, the attention to detail is reflected in touches that include an actual miniaturized family photo in a tiny frame on a stairwell wall. Built on a scale of 1-inch-to-1-foot, the dollhouse roof beam would be 39-feet-tall in real life.

103-year-old World War II veteran Ed Vrona surveys the dollhouse he spent 10 years building with his late wife, Georgie. Vrona has donated the elaborate three-story eight-room house to the Easterseals Autism Center of Excellence in Daytona Beach.
103-year-old World War II veteran Ed Vrona surveys the dollhouse he spent 10 years building with his late wife, Georgie. Vrona has donated the elaborate three-story eight-room house to the Easterseals Autism Center of Excellence in Daytona Beach.

'An amazing life he's had'

In its new home, the dollhouse already was a hit with Easterseals staff members and children.

A group of roughly two dozen children in the center’s program sat squirming and cross-legged on the floor to offer enthusiastic renditions of “One Small Voice” and “Skidamarink,” the latter a 1910 song that was popular at the time Vrona served as a technical sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II.

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During the war, Vrona kept Allied planes in the air to battle Japanese forces in New Guinea by improvising a hand-held gadget to insert into the cylinder shaft and break loose frozen threads to more easily complete required spark plug changes.

On Thursday, the children honored his wartime sacrifices with colorful handmade cards: “Thank you, Mr. Vrona! We love our dollhouse. Thank you for your service!”

Vrona also was grateful.

“I wish I could pick every one of you up, put you in my lap and give you a big hug,” Vrona told the youngsters. “I love you. Thank you. Thank you.”

Ed Vrona, a 103-year-old World War II veteran, smiles as he listens to youngsters sing for him on Thursday at the Easterseals Autism Center of Excellence in Daytona Beach. Vrona was there to donate an elaborate handmade dollhouse to the Center. "This is my life," he said.
Ed Vrona, a 103-year-old World War II veteran, smiles as he listens to youngsters sing for him on Thursday at the Easterseals Autism Center of Excellence in Daytona Beach. Vrona was there to donate an elaborate handmade dollhouse to the Center. "This is my life," he said.

The dollhouse will add a welcome touch of joy to the autism center, said Michelle Gatrell, Easterseals marketing manager.

“The kids are so happy, the employees, too,” she said. “There’s not one person who hasn’t had the biggest smile on their face.”

That sentiment was echoed by Dorothy Lefford, Easterseals vice president of clinical services.

“This is only the third time I’ve met Ed, but he’s the most joyous, positive person I’ve ever seen,” she said. “It makes you wonder what is the key to living that kind of life?  I think it’s living with graciousness, living in the moment, living each day with intention. It’s an amazing life he’s had.”

Born on July 4, 1919, in Butternut, Wisconsin, Vrona started his life amid a worldwide flu epidemic. Throughout his long life, he also has persevered through the Great Depression, World War II and, most recently, another global health crisis in the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, he had a big smile about all of it.

“Everything turned out great for me.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: WW II vet, 103, donates handmade dollhouse to Easterseals in Daytona