Mary Snape ready for 100th birthday bash
Mary Snape will have a ‘roaring ‘20s’ party this week for a very special birthday.
Penrith
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Mary Snape is ready to ‘roar’ into triple digits – and doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon.
Mary, who will celebrate her 100th birthday with a ‘roaring ‘20s’ themed birthday this week, says her secret to longevity is living healthily
“I’ve never drank, never smoked, and I’ve always been a big walker,” she said.
“I just try to live a good life and enjoy the things around me.”
Now Mary takes great pleasure in watching TV and walking around Boronia House in St Marys.
“She likes watching cooking shows, but she doesn’t do too many activities,” Mary’s daughter, Barbara Maclean, said.
“She also likes reading magazines, and she’ll always comment on articles that are interesting to her.
“She still walks at a really good pace as well.”
Born in Greenwich, London, in 1920, some of Mary’s early memories include playing in the now famous Cutty Sark in her early childhood and working in a Lyons’ tea shop in London as a teenager.
She then joined the British Women’s Land Army during World War II.
“Mum went right through the war,” Mrs Maclean said.
“She and her sister were in the land army, and she always said it was hard work but she made great friends.
“Mum would say they’d work so hard during the day that they couldn’t even eat when they got back. They were so exhausted they just wanted to sleep.”
Mary and her family moved to Australia in 1965 and settled in Guildford.
She has since had 12 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.
“Mum said she wanted to have five children and come to Australia,” Mrs Maclean said.
“After I was born, mum and dad decided to come out – they’d seen the Jacaranda trees in Parramatta.
“My mum has an amazing sense of positivity, I think that’s what’s got here to where she is today.
“Everyone in the nursing home knows she’s never dragging her feet around, she’s always asking everybody how they are and commenting on how wonderful each day is.”
Mary told the Press she’d be ready for another interview and photo for her 105th birthday.