To some folks, birthdays are just another day. To others, they are milestones to mark the years and occasions to celebrate either quietly or with much fanfare.

Johnnie Ridgway takes the latter approach, as he views birthdays as opportunities to gather family and friends together for a big bash.

“I was a Depression kid and my parents never had enough money for birthday parties,” explains the Woodinville man. “I remember when I turned 30, I threw myself my first birthday party, but it wasn’t until I turned 60 that I really began to celebrate the occasion all out.”

For that milestone, Ridgway invited 250 of his closest friends to party and eat hot dogs in a Seattle parking garage.

His 65th was a black tie affair at the Columbia Tower Club with about 20 people.

Recently, Ridgway turned 80, and he decided to really make his birthday extra special. A year ago, he asked people to reserve a specific weekend in February and then every few months, he reminded them periodically about their commitment to attend his big party.

Ridgway didn’t tell anyone about the specifics, only that they were to pack a bag and meet him at a Totem Lake parking lot. When the 30 family members and friends arrived, Ridgway and his wife Janice were there with a bus.

The group boarded and headed to Sea-Tac Airport, where they got on a plane and flew to Las Vegas.

“You should have seen their faces when I told them where they were going,” says Ridgway. “It was the best surprise!”

The group included a couple from Hong Kong, who got the prize for traveling the furthest. And Ridgway’s 22-year-old-grandson, Michael Jeppesen of Redmond, was the youngest member to join the festivities.

“We stayed at the Flamingo Hotel for two nights,” says Ridgway, “and during the day, everyone went off to do what they wanted, but at night we got together for dinner. The first night we celebrated my friend Virginia Webb Bice’s birthday. She’s one day older than I am. Then on Saturday, we celebrated my birthday. The youngsters all stayed out late, but most of the old folks went to bed. I was pooped!”

Ridgway doesn’t know if he can top his 80th, especially because he’ll be paying for it for quite awhile.

He adds, “Hot dogs and beans in the backyard sounds like a plan for next year!”

Fortunately, Ridgway, at 80, is in good health and he is thankful for everything he has and for all the wonderful people that are a part of his life.

The semi-retired, longtime area resident has three grown children and two grandsons and spends his time working part-time as a financial manager and certified public accountant at his office in Seattle. He also travels extensively with his wife and pursues the other major passion in his life – model boat building.

“It started as a two-bit hobby 40 years ago and my interest just grew over the years,” explains Ridgway. “I love Navy stuff, especially Navy history, having served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. The ships all have such interesting backgrounds. I spend probably 50 plus hours a week building model boats now, so you could say it consumes a lot of my free time.”

Ridgway says he lives his life his way and tries to be an optimist.

He adds, “Life should be fun. Go out and do the things that make you happy and when you have a problem, solve it instead of standing around complaining about it. Life’s too short to spend time whining about everything that’s wrong.”