National Centenarian Awareness Project: Merle McEathron

Merle Cornoyer McEathron

Sadly, Lynn Peters Adler and the National Centenarian Awareness Project announce the passing of our dear, dear friend Merle Cornoyer McEathron on November 30, 2000.

During her life, Merle McEathron, shown here with Lynn Adler in 1996, made such a difference in so many lives. While we mourn her passing, we also celebrate her long, productive and dynamic life. She was truly a unique and generous sole; we are privileged to have known her. Merle had a long association with the National Centenarian Awareness Project and its founder/director, Lynn Peters Adler.

Following is our favorite Merle article. Not afraid of getting her "feet wet," Merle celebrated life!

In Memoriam...

From Glamour magazine, November 1999

Merle McEathron
Been
There,
Done That
Already!

SHE PARTIED IN 1899, SHE'LL PARTY IN 1999. HERE'S ONE MILLENNIUM MOMMA WHO'S SEEN IT ALL!

Glamour asked 104-year-old Merle Cornoyer McEathron what's changed the most for women in the past l0O years.

Get smart "Education!" answers the exuberant Phoenix resident. "Women today are much more educated, and, as a result, more independent." After a childhood spent doing chores and caring for younger siblings, McEathron rebelled at age 16 by marrying a handsome 21-year-old who owned the best horse and buggy in town. "I figured I already knew how to cook and clean, so I might as well do it in my own house," she explains.

Single-mom role model After her marriage failed in 1920, McEathron bobbed her hair and went to work, eventually running her own grocery store and putting her two sons through college. She began voting the same year and hasn't missed casting a ballot in a presidential election since.

McEathron's millennium Do On the eve of 2000, she plans to kick up her heels with fellow 100-plus pals at a big blowout held by the National Centenarian Awareness Project in Phoenix. — JESSIE KNADLER

Reprinted with permission