No April Fool: Mary Beselin
Saratoga resident celebrates 100 years of life
She decorates cookies while enjoying birthday
Perhaps due to the day of her birth, or perhaps her merry demeanor, many people think longtime Saratogan Mary Beselin is joking when she says she is a centenarian.
Although her appearance belies her years, Beselin is not fooling when she says she was born Mary Alene Alexander on April 1, 1899, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Furthering this point, Beselin and her family and friends celebrated her landmark birthday at the Odd Fellows Home in Saratoga, where she decorated cookies for approaching Easter, in between celebrating her own holiday.
The Alexanders moved to Anacortes, Wash., when Beselin was 5--a result of her father's inability to find enough work in their home state. The family lived with relatives until her father, an expert carpenter, built a new home. He then proceeded to make a living building homes for others.
After graduating from high school, Beselin attended Western Normal School, now Western Washington University. After graduation, with money saved from her first teaching job, Beselin surprised her father with a new phonograph and some of his favorite Scottish music records. After his death, Beselin helped her mother financially and paid for her younger sisters' piano lessons.
"As a teacher, petite Mary, barely older than her students, encouraged and inspired them, as evidenced by letters she received from them or their parents," says friend Jean Barrick, citing that just last year, Beselin received a letter from a student she taught more than 70 years ago. "Thank you for helping me overcome shyness and learning to feel important," the letter read.
Two years ago, Beselin learned that one of her former students made a sizeable donation to her alma mater in her honor. In response to the thank-you letter she wrote him, he organized a luncheon for her in Washington, which became a reunion for her family and friends.
Beselin and her husband Edward had been married for 68 years when he died in 1995 at the age of 102. Beselin continued to live on her own until the age of 99, when she moved to the Odd Fellows Home. She is an active member of the Saratoga Federated Church and the Rebekahs.
"Mom is really a people-person and loves life," says daughter Marylin Nistler, who lives in Saratoga with her husband Gerald. "She has a zest for living and for the people around her. She's always thinking of what she can do for her friends."
Inspired by how her husband had written his life story, Sailing Memoir, Beselin began writing a journal of her life's memories, including such things as horse and buggy rides, her first time in an automobile and the birth of her younger sister. Her stories are now being made into a book by Nistler. Beselin also has two sons, Dick and Ken Beselin, both of whom reside in Washington, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Saratoga, California Since 1975
