DECATUR, Ga. — A Decatur woman and her family are getting ready to ring in her 100th birthday.
Mary Ellen Richardson has lived in Georgia since 2003 after her incredible life brought her to the Peach State.
Born on Aug. 20, 1923, in Braddock, Pennsylvania, Mary Ellen met and married her high school sweetheart Robert Reno (Bob). Graduating as part of the Class of 1941, they married two years later on Jan. 30, 1943 - a day before her husband would head to basic training with the U.S. Navy.
Robert served on the aircraft carrier "Princeton" until it was lost during the battle of Leyte Gulf. Meanwhile, Mary Ellen spent the war years working for Curtiss-Wright Aviation. During WWII, she helped make airplane propellers in a factory.
After the war, Robert would start an air conditioning and refrigeration business with his brother. Eventually, he sold the company and retired to Florida. They would move to Georgia in 2003.
Robert and Mary Ellen's marriage spanned more than 64 years until his death in 2007. They had three children, nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Their son, the youngest of their children, was named Robert Princeton Reno, a nod to his father's time on the aircraft carrier during WWII.
Besides being a mother, Mary Ellen is also a lifelong artist and a full-time Atlanta Braves fan.
Despite having the company of her husband and children, she also enjoyed the company of a long succession of cats. Eventually, she would also call her oldest daughter, Molly, her roommate. Molly recently passed away due to a short battle with cancer, according to her niece.
"We miss her terribly and are saddened she can't be here to see Grandma, her mum, whom she lived with, turn 100," Meg Mbugua, Mary Ellen's granddaughter said.
Despite the family's recent loss, they're excited to celebrate Mary Ellen and her long fulfilling life.
