Mary's Story

In 1940, Mary was born in West Virginia and later grew up in Akron, Ohio. As an only child, she spent a lot of time with her cousin in Cleveland and her grandmother. Mary was very close to her grandmother and they traveled to Marietta, Ohio every summer. In Akron, Mary was a part of a marching parade and she also engaged in tap dancing. Mary’s biggest challenge was getting her GED; when she began working at a cotton factory, she also started to plan for her GED. She started an 8 week program, and after the 3rd week, her teacher told her that she was ready to take the exam, but Mary wanted to wait until her friends also took the exam. When she passed her GED, there was a ceremony in the church where her and all her friends obtained their diplomas!

At the cotton factory, Mary made cottonballs, qtips, swabs, and tissues. She worked there for 15 years; it started from a small plant with only 5 machines to a big plant with 50 machines. Mary’s skills were so exceptional that she could tell maintenance exactly what was wrong with the machine. After the cotton factory, Mary worked at Marcs for about 3 years before her health started declining. Her son and daughter-in-law then took over. 

Mary was married for 5.5 years before her separation, and then she was married to her second husband for 7 years before he passed from dementia. Mary loves all her children and grandchildren; she said “they are my life.” She has one son, three grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren. Mary’s cousin once gave her an angel that sits on the top of her bookcase and told her, “this is your guardian angel.” Mary plans on giving it to her granddaughter one day. Today, Mary enjoys reading and coming to the center to meet other people and feel at home.