Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe celebrates 100th birthday of oldest living member
by Rhonda Dedyne, The Morning Sun
Mary Zilz has a zest for life.
It’s readily apparent in the sparkling eyes, quick wit and soft laughter of the lovely lady who’s celebrating her 100th birthday June 18 – making the centenarian the oldest living member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.
“There have been many joys and sorrows in those years, but the Lord has always been good to me,” Mary (Monnie) says about her experiences so far in a life that’s still not complete.
Mary’s journey began on the family’s farm near Rosebush where she was the second child born to Jennie May Pelcher, “a full-blooded Chippewa,” and Obadiah Burt Smith of Dutch-Irish descent who was a blacksmith.
Happy memories of her early years revolve around time spent playing outdoors and doing chores, like helping tap maple trees and collect sap that was transformed into maple syrup, and playing in the straw stacks in wheat fields.
“We spent a lot of time at my grandma and grandpa Pelcher’s,” Mary recalls of her maternal grandparents, Moses and Maria (Peters) Pelcher. “Grandpa was a farmer and a minister at the North Branch Indian Church giving sermons in the Chippewa native language and English, and my mom and grandma sang in the choir. I still sometimes sing songs like ‘Just as I Am’ in Chippewa – they are soft and melodious and have a different rhythm.”
Music continues to be an important part of Mary’s daily routine. A self-taught pianist, she took lessons to learn how to play the Lowrey organ that’s a fixture in her living room.
“I play for my own enjoyment, and enjoy songs from the 1930s and ‘40s by Glenn Miller and other bands that have so much harmony,” she says.
While Mary prefers those wonderful tunes from another era, she’s definitely not stalled in the past, staying up-to-date on current trends and issues helps keep her mentally and physically active and engaged.
“Our family has so much in common and there’s no generation gap for me – I don’t feel like a great-great-grandma,” Mary laughingly says about her personal “tribe” that includes 11 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and 17 great-great-grandchildren. “Sometimes when people get older they get so rigid and set in their ways. I enjoy talking with these young kids – it’s interesting to hear their ideas.”
Life-long learning is a principle established by her parents, Mary says. She remembers walking to school as a 5-year-old with her brothers, and later attending Mt. Pleasant Indian School from fifth through ninth grades where she graduated as valedictorian in 1930.
“Mom and dad wanted to make sure all their children had a good education, and I always enjoyed school,” Mary says. “After Indian School, I went to the public high school in Mt. Pleasant where I played baritone in the marching band and was part of the Girls Athletic Association. I graduated in 1933 and was determined to make a success of my life.”
Growing up during the Depression years helped fuel Mary’s career ambitions. “The Depression was hard on everyone; we were all in the same boat,” she says, noting that the assistance of an uncle helped her secure her first job at Postem in Battle Creek which led to an even more important chapter in her life story.
“That’s where I met my first husband, Robert Mullen, and we were married three years later.”
Sorrow was intermingled with the young couple’s joy when crib death claimed the life of their first-born child, Robert Jr., at age three months. Two daughters, Mary Ann and Nannette, helped ease the loss and the family enjoyed happy years together until Robert suffered a heart attack and died in 1952.
Mary says her faith in God and trust in His will sustained her in subsequent years that have included plenty of ups and downs: working as a cosmetologist, and owning three beauty salons in the Lansing area from 1944-1974; a happy marriage to her second husband, Carl Zilz, in 1955, and the sadness of his death from cancer in 1991; and the death of her daughter, Nannette, to cancer in 1989.
“I praise the Lord for all He’s allowed me to have and do through the years,” she says, citing her own survival of a heart attack – at the young age of 90 – as one of those blessings. “Since having heart surgery, I don’t travel as much as I used to, but I still am able to spend part of each year in Florida. I read a lot and do crossword puzzles, and enjoy being with my family.”
Mary Ann, who lives in an adjoining duplex to her mother, is an important part of the family equation.
“She looks after me, and I look after her,” Mary says about their close bond as her daughter nods in agreement, displaying the same wry smile as her mother’s. “I have a wonderful family and we enjoy each other.”
That will certainly be the case June 28 when Mary’s family and friends convene to celebrate her big birthday. What was supposed to be a surprise turned out differently, thanks to Mary’s keen eyes.
“Well, there was something about it in our church bulletin and I read that, but I don’t know exactly what they have planned,” she says smiling once more. “I know we will have a fun time.”