Decades after driving across the country to California in her parents’ car from Ohio, and never looking back, Mary Jane Mitchell celebrated her 100th birthday at Atria Senior Living on Saturday.
Mitchell, whose father worked as a coal and steel truck driver, was born in West Point, Ohio, in 1924. She and her three siblings slept in one bedroom in a two-bedroom home without running water, and with a bathroom located outdoors — yet, despite the conditions, she says she experienced a great childhood.
Mitchell graduated from high school in 1942, and enjoyed hobbies such as the family garden, swimming in a creek, ice skating, Polka dancing and music, with her favorite artists being Perry Como, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.
Not only is May her birthday month, but also her wedding anniversary: Mitchell met George, her husband, in 1947, marrying him on May 1, 1948, after a year of dating.
Mitchell and George lived in the San Fernando Valley, where he worked for movie studios and she worked as a waitress for 30 years at Du-par’s, meeting Hollywood elite in her own right.
Steve, their only son, was born in 1951. She now has two grandsons and four great-grandchildren.
After Geroge’s death in 1989, Mitchell lived in Moorpark before moving to Atria in 2022, where her current hobbies include bingo, Bible classes and spending time with friends.
Friends gathered to celebrate her milestone birthday with cake and music, while Mitchell expressed gratitude to them.
“Thank you everybody here. This is such a big surprise for me.”
Her oldest grandson, Kevin, predicted that Mitchell would make it to 100 due to how active she has always been.
“I’m surprised she’s sitting down right now. She never sits down. She’s one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met in my life,” Kevin said to the attendees. “She still has her wits about her.”
Mitchell has never let a fall or broken bone get in the way of having energy to do what she enjoys, according to Kevin.
“She never relaxes. She always wants to be up in the kitchen, cleaning, out doing yard work. I took care of her for five years in Moorpark before she came here, and I could see how she’d fall down and break a bone,” Kevin said. “I’d nurse her back to health and then she would overwork herself and break something else.”
Describing her as witty and funny, Kevin also described some of her favorite pastimes such as gambling and spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.