UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. – When Ethel Mariam was born, the price of gas was just 14 cents per gallon, a dozen eggs cost 22 cents, and a new house was just under $6,300.
“I was born at the old St. Louis Maternity Hospital on Euclid and Taylor,” she said.
It was June 16, 1923.
Ethel has lived a life of courage and accomplishment. She was one of the first women to join the U.S. Navy, reaching the rank of Captain. During World War II, she worked as an accountant based in Bainbridge, Maryland, for most of the time.
“They liked me because the money came through,” Mariam said. “I never carried a gun, though.”
On Sunday morning, her driveway was decked out with banners and other decorations, filled with family, friends, and neighbors. This is how people have been celebrating Ethel’s birthday for the past decade or so.
“I have been very fortunate to have been Ethel’s neighbor and friend for almost 30 years now,” Denise Willis, who organized the parties, said.
Her nephew, Allen Marium, and his wife, Sharon, travelled in from Florida.
“She’s just one amazing person,” Allen said.
Marium credits her longevity to swimming.
“I used to swim, but I don’t think I can do it now,” she said. “I thought about this morning, try a little bit of backstroke. Now the sun’s in my eyes and I have a problem with that.”
Sharon added: “I don’t know how many laps she swam, but it was a lot. She’s been through a lot of things in her life. She’s come a long way living by herself and she has family and a million friends that just love her.”
Marium still walks at least an hour every day. In addition to her active lifestyle and quick wit, her family thinks her spirit has a lot to do with her long life as well.
“She just is the sweetest thing,” Debby Schroeder, her niece, said. “She just always has a positive attitude and thinks that she can accomplish anything. And she loves everybody.”
Marium had these words of wisdom to share: “The only thing you gotta remember (is that) you gotta keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep going and everything falls into place after that.”
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