After celebrating his 98th and 99th birthdays in style at Covenant Shores, Islander Bert Pound has been anticipating his centennial celebration for a while. But this year, he’s sharing festivities with another resident, Lois Lawson, who happens to have the exact same birthday.

It’s “quite a coincidence,” Lawson said — the understatement of a century.

Covenant Shores Chaplain Greg Asimakoupoulos said that a joint party for the two was planned after a serendipitous discovery of the shared occasion.

The “fraternal friends” were both born on Sept. 28, 1916; Lawson in Butte, Montana and Pound in Grand Forks, British Columbia. But Pound said that he doesn’t see being a centenarian as a big deal.

“I don’t feel any different than I did the day before,” he said. “It’s just another day. But we’re having a hell of a party.”

The University of Washington Alumni Band, which Pound has been a member of since 1977, will perform at the party, singing “Happy Birthday” and playing “Celebration” by Kool and The Gang. “Celebration” is the key word, Pound said.

Long lives run in Lawson’s family; all of her siblings lived into their 90s. Lawson, a huge baseball and football fan, has a birthday present in mind: a wild card spot for the Mariners.

Lawson had been married to her husband, Bob, for 71 years. One day in 1969, when their kids were graduated from college and out of the house, Bob came home from work early and told his wife that he was taking a one-year leave of absence so they could take a trip around the world.

Lawson and her husband had traveled abroad before. As newlyweds, they lived in India for four years as Bob worked as a geologist and mining engineer. Asimakoupoulos, who will emcee the birthday party, joked that it his career choice that led him to Lawson, as he “knew how to pick this gem.”

Before her world travels, Lawson said she didn’t leave the state of Montana until she was 19 years old. She and Bob met at what was then called the Montana State School of Mines, where Lawson studied nutrition.

Pound studied at the University of Washington, and still bleeds purple and gold. He was recently named a Golden Graduate for his dedication to the UW Alumni Band, for which he has been a participant, mascot, cheerleader, benefactor and historian.

Pound is known for his one-armed push-ups, which he did every time the Husky football team scored, up until age 99. He started with two-armed push-ups, and then switched to one-armed push-ups after he saw a Husky cheerleader complete the feat in the 1980s.

Pound was a percussionist in the UW marching band that went to the 1937 Rose Bowl, and was co-editor in chief of the Band’s 75th Anniversary History Book in 2004.

Locally, Pound started the Mercer Island Community Band, which performs every year at Summer Celebration. Pound hasn’t missed a performance since the band’s founding, and continues to play the cymbals, though now he is pushed in a wheelchair. He also plays in the Bellevue Municipal Band.

Pound’s wife LaVerne passed away a few years ago, shortly after they had celebrated their 66th anniversary. Pound started his career in the hotel business, then worked at Boeing for 20 years.

Pound stays busy, continuing to work with promotional merchandise on a freelance basis. He also still drives around the Island, as his license doesn’t expire until he turns 101, he said. Pound, who is fond of dancing and “the life of the party,” according to Covenant Shores staff, said he is planning to waltz with Lawson at their birthday party.

The birthday festivities start at 7 p.m. at Covenant Shores.