Photo:Centenarians of Oklahoma/Facebook
Centenarians of Oklahoma/Facebook
Centenarian Mary Lea Forsythe may be turning 100, but she’s downright giddy about finally getting to celebrate her 25th birthday!
“Actually, I’ll be 24 and 7/8ths. There’s a man at church who loves to say that,” Forsythe says in an interview with PEOPLE about herLeap Daybirthday. “There’s no 29th in three out of four years and I have a good time with that.”
“We had the only telephone in the neighborhood, so we’d holler ‘Miz Brown, you’re wanted on the phone, come across the garden to the house,’“ Forsythe says. “It was a different time, I’ll tell you.”
Mary Lea Forsythe at 4, when her birthday actually landed on her real birthdate.Courtesy Mary Lea Forsythe
Courtesy Mary Lea Forsythe
Or there’s herlove at first sightmeeting with her late husband William, who died in 2011 after 68 years of marriage.
The pair, who met in the 9th grade, both enjoyed music (she learned to play the mandolin in her 50s) and traveled extensively after he served in World War II.
One year, she remembers going with him to a restaurant that offered a free birthday meal. She told the waitress it was both of their birthdays — and the server wasn’t buying it. “She said ‘Both?’ And I said, ‘Yes. His is March the sixth and mine’s the 29th, and there are no 29th on the calendar this, so I’m taking his this year,” she says with a laugh.
The centenarian explains that she’s always marked her non-leap year birthdays on random dates — “I had two brothers and three sisters, and if anybody wanted to celebrate my birthday, that’s the day I celebrated,” she quips — but when it comes to leap years, she sticks with her actual birthday.
Bill and Mary Lea Forsythe.Courtesy Mary Lea Forsythe
Despite her fondness for reminiscing, Forsythe isn’t stuck in the past. She’s a big fan of technology and loves taking selfies, texting friends and family and having Siri make her life easier.
“She’s the queen of selfies, much better than I am,” says granddaughter Kerry Nau, who lives in California with her two sons. “And she texts me all the time.”
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Nau’s the one who volunteered to be the family’s point person for Forsythe’s grand birthday party on Feb. 29.
“I had no idea what I was getting into,” she tells PEOPLE. “I asked her how many invitations she needed and she said about 30. I printed 40 — and she said she needed more because she was inviting everyone.”
Granddaughter Kerry Nau with Mary Lea Forsythe, who took this selfie.Courtesy Mary Lea Forsythe
Forsythe says she’s invited her family — which includes her son, daughter, five grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren — as well as people from church, and various clubs she has been involved in over the years.
“It’s going to be pretty big,” she says.
Nau adds, “If I had thought this out, I would have arrived more than a day in advance to get it all worked out. We keep changing to bigger areas.”
Nau says her grandmother has always done things her way. When she came out to visit their family in California one year, Forsythe decided she wanted to test out her grandson’s skateboard. At the time, she was about 70 — and she fell and broke her wrist.
“She has this cast on and we see her cutting it. She said she was modifying it so it would be more comfortable,” Nau says with a laugh.
Back in the days when women wore dresses, Forsythe proudly tells the story of being the first one to wear a pantsuit to church.
“Nobody in those days wore pants, so I sat in the back of the church because I thought they were going to kick me out,” she says. “But nobody kicked me out and the next week everybody started wearing pants to church.”
Mary Lea Forsythe when she rang the bell on Constitution Day.Courtesy Mary Lea Forsythe
“I think I’ve done my time,” she says.
Frankly, she’s got too many things going on right now, including working on distributing “You Are Fantastic,’’ the booklet she wrote at the end of last year “about your spirit and your soul.” Originally, she printed enough for her family, but then it gained some local traction.
“I got a copyright and ordered 100 and I’ve sold about half,” she says.
Forsythe lives alone in her two-story home on a hill, although her daughter lives just down the road and checks in on her every day. She also takes regular walks when the weather permits, has a treadmill and stays active.
“I don’t smoke and I don’t drink, and I just enjoy living. And I don’t try to hold grudges,” Forsythe says. “I try to get rid of anything that’s a problem with me and my heart. I forgive and I don’t cheat or lie.”
She says her parents lived into their 80s, all three of her sisters died at 86 and two brothers passed away in their 70s.
“My mother’s sister Mary lived to be 107,” Forsythe says. “So I told ‘em, I’m going to out-do her.”
source: people.com
