‘Betty White Day’ Illinois Town Honors Their Native Hero

Betty White's family may have moved to California when she was young, but America's favorite Golden Girl was born right here in Illinois in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook.

The nation was shocked over the holidays, well as shocked as anyone can be when a 99-year-old passes away, when it was announced that Betty White had died on Christmas day, just weeks before she was going to turn 100.

Her hometown of Oak Brook will be celebrating her birthday over the weekend and then declaring this Monday, January 17th, what would have been the day of Betty White's 100th birthday, the inaugural Betty White Day.

NOTE: It is the inaugural Betty White Day, not the first annual Betty White Day. You can never have the first annual anything. The term annual means that it has happened every year, if it's never happened then it can't be annual. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

The festivities for Betty White Day will include some of her favorite things, including:

• A gathering of fans at the Oak Park Theater at 10AM to celebrate the life of the legendary actress.
• Cindy Lee, the woman who sang the famous "Thank You For Being A Friend" theme song for the Golden Girls will perform live.
• A special adoption event will take place at the theater. White was a prominent advocate for the adoption of dogs and cats.
• The local coffee shop, Wise Cup, will be serving a special drink called the Betty White Latte.
• Tre Sorelle, an Italian restaurant in Oak Park, will be serving up Betty's favorite drink called the Betty White martini.
• Sugar Fixe Patisserie, a local bakery will be selling special Betty White cookies.

It should be a great event celebrating an extraordinary life.