CHELMSFORD — Sylvia Contover received the celebrity treatment at the polls during early voting at the town offices Friday. Resident after resident came to shake her hand and thank her for voting.

Contover, 99, had just voted in her 20th presidential election. Her 100th birthday is Jan. 30, and she said the best birthday gift anyone can give her is to help elect former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the country’s first woman president.

“I was so happy to vote for (Barack) Obama, because for our country, it was wonderful to have that happen,” Contover said of electing the nation’s first black president. “And now another historical event is having a woman in.”

She said it felt “fantastic” to vote for Clinton, whom she feels is the most qualified woman to ever seek the presidency. Contover believes electing the first female president will be a powerful moment for the nation in elevating respect for women and fighting against discrimination.

Born three years before the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote in 1920, Contover has made a point to vote in every federal, state and local election since she reached voting age. For her, it was when she turned 21 in 1938 — the national voting age wasn’t lowered to 18 until 1971.

She was born during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, and has so far lived through 17 presidents.

Contover’s presidential voting record is one you can bet on. In the 19 elections from Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s third term to Obama’s second, she has chosen the winning candidate every time. The only president she didn’t support during her voting career was Gerald Ford, who took office upon the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974 and lost to Jimmy Carter in 1976.

A self-described “liberal Republican,” Contover said she votes for whomever she feels is the best person for the job at the time, regardless of their party.

The party Contover was politically born into has changed a lot over the years — and not for the better, she believes — but she’s hopeful for a turnaround.

“I don’t like the part about being against freedom of choice,” said Contover, who believes every woman should have the right to do what she wants with her body.

Born Sylvia Solomonides to Greek immigrant parents, Contover grew up in Lowell and attended Lowell High School. All four of her siblings — three brothers and one sister — served in World War II and all came home safely. During the war, Contover was a product inspector at the Atlantic Parachute Co. in Lowell, which provided parachutes for the soldiers serving abroad.

She and her husband, Louis, moved to Manhattan, where their son, Dean, was born. She enjoyed the city life for 15 years before moving to Greece, a climate preferable for Louis’ emphysema. They lived in the Athens suburb of Kifissia for a few years before returning to Massachusetts. Contover still speaks Greek fluently.

After her husband died in 1974, Contover went back to school at UMass Lowell. She earned her bachelor degree in sociology and finished her master’s degree in community social psychology at age 72. Contover worked in the university library for 15 years, retiring at age 85.

“I thought, ‘This is uplifting,'” she said. “With all of the kids going to school, and the faculty always looking ahead, I couldn’t work in a better environment.”

Contover attributes her longevity to her positive attitude.

“Positivity makes everything,” she said. “I don’t want to die and go to heaven — heaven’s right here on earth, so I appreciate the good things here.”

A lifelong learner, she continues to learn new things. Recently, she has been working on watercolor painting at the Senior Center and is now trying her hand at acrylic.

“I’m trying to master that. I haven’t yet,” she said. “There’s hope for me.”

When she turned 50, Contover said she tried giving up sugar to help bring her to 100. While she broke her promise to herself after five years, she said she still hasn’t had any ice cream.

“I didn’t eat ice cream for 50 years,” Contover said. “So on the (Jan.) 30th, I’m going to eat ice cream.”

Follow Alana Melanson at facebook.com/alana.lowellsun or on Twitter and Tout @alanamelanson.