Would you care for a friend's aging parents for 17 years?

Milana Riggs is not what I expected. I had come to her Carmel home to talk about her recent honor as the 2015 Caregiver of the Year by CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions.

Riggs is not the quiet, retiring type. She's loud, passionate, a bundle of energy. She can raise eyebrows with her colorful stories and salty language.

She won't reveal her age, but she enjoyed an interesting career as a traveling chef with many rock bands, including The Who, The Rolling Stones, Yes and the Doobie Brothers.

She also operated her own restaurant, The Pleasant Peasant on 86th Street, in the 1970s and '80s, as well as a catering service. "We had a chalkboard menu and farm-to-table food before it was cool."

But her job these days is caregiver-in-chief for 103-year-old Georgia Bradley.

Like many stories, this one starts years ago when Riggs made a promise to a childhood friend who was dying of cancer. Charlene Barber asked Riggs to watch after her aging parents. That was in 1998.

Riggs and Barber had been friends since they were little girls. "We were inseparable. If I wasn't at her house, she was at mine."

So the idea of caring for Barber's parents didn't feel like an imposition.

"We're Serbian. We take care of our own because that's just what you do. You put children and spouse to the side, and you take care of your parents. We believe in valor, integrity and loyalty to the death."

When Riggs' father died when she was 12, her godparents stepped in to help her mother raise her and her sister. When Riggs' sister died in a car accident, Riggs stepped in to raise her niece.

When the Bradleys began to require more care, Riggs devoted more time to them. "I engaged them in life," she said.

They stopped for sodas at the chocolate shop on Monument Circle, visited the re-created L.S. Ayres Tea Room at the State Museum and talked about film stars and music from their era.

The couple celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary in 2011, but days later, Paul Bradley died at the age of 101.

At that point, Riggs decided to move Georgia Bradley to her home because she couldn't bear the idea of her going to a nursing home.

"No nursing home for her," Riggs almost shouted. "As long as Kirt and I can carry her on our backs, she's dying here, at home."

Kirt is Kirt Staletovich, Riggs' nephew. He moved back from Florida to help his aunt care for Georgia.

On the day I visited, Georgia was having a little coffee and yogurt in the living room, while enjoying the sunshine pouring through a window.

"She gets six hours of sunlight here, and there's life in this neighborhood — kids and dogs," Riggs said. "She can spy on the neighbors. We're thinking about doing a remake of 'Rear Window,' and she's going to play the Grace Kelly character. We like to make up stories for Mrs. Bradley."

Georgia is alert, but hard of hearing, so conversations are loud. Riggs calls her "kid" and tells her how Kirt is going to take her out for the afternoon, maybe to Broad Ripple. She gets around with a walker or a wheelchair, when necessary.

Excursions aren't unusual. They went to the "Terra Cotta Warriors" exhibit at The Children's Museum and a Fourth of July concert at Conner Prairie, where she met former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar.

The Caregiver of the Year award honors a personal caregiver in Central Indiana who models courage, sacrifice, strength and creativity while caring for another.

A Pew Research study found the number of adults in the U.S. who are caregivers jumped to 39 percent in 2012 from 30 percent in 2010.

Fifty percent or more of the people who serve as caregivers for frail, elderly or disabled family members do so for more than three years, and 34 percent will be providing care for more than 10 years, according to statistics provided by CICOA.

"Milana is a shining example of how we should look after each other as we age, regardless of family ties," said Orion H. Bell IV, CICOA president and CEO. "We appreciate the gift she's given the Bradley family and the generosity of our donors who make our programs, call center and other family resources available to the community."

Georgia Bradley will turn 104 this year. Breast cancer and dementia have slowed her down, but she still made it to her old stomping grounds, the White River Yacht Club, on St. Patrick's Day.

"We laugh every day and have fun," Riggs said. "She's my best friend."

To find out about volunteer opportunities, go to www.cicoa.org and click on Make a Difference.

Noteworthy

• Hawthorne Community Center is having a "Race to the Finish" event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 12. Tickets are $50 and include a buffet lunch in the Panasonic Pagoda, entrance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a practice day, and the opportunity to tour garages and the pit area.

All proceeds benefit Hawthorne Community Center's $3.5 million capital campaign to renovate its building. For ticket or sponsorship information, call (317) 637-4312 or email HawthorneCapitalCampaign@gmail.com.

• Project Home Indy will have a Speakeasy-style cocktail hour fundraiser Thursday evening at the Indiana Landmarks Center, 1201 Central Ave. Tickets are $49, which includes drinks, eats, a photo booth and more.

Proceeds will help homeless teen moms and their babies achieve self-sufficiency. Find out more at http://www.projecthomeindy.org/news-events.

• Students at Brook Park Elementary School recently planted an American Heart Association Teaching Garden, the 10th in the Indianapolis area. The Teaching Garden features 10 raised beds with vegetables and herbs. Funded by Roche Diagnostics, it gives students a real-life laboratory to learn and experience healthy eating.

"Today's children face a number of challenges when it comes to healthy eating," said Dr. Mark Jones, president of the Indianapolis American Heart Association board of directors. "Many children don't have affordable access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and many have never learned about proper nutrition."

Teaching Gardens are part of the American Heart Association's prevention platform to empower Americans to get healthier. Since 2012, more than 328 gardens have been planted at schools across the country.

Call Star reporter Maureen Gilmer at (317) 444-6879. Follow her on Twitter: @MaureenCGilmer.