Mary Cantway, a resident of Homewood, Illinois, USA, is celebrating her 111th birthday today, according to CBS News.
Cantway was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 30 September 1914, to parents Homer Granville Hernly (1879–1958) and Mary Jennie Lee (1879–1964). She had four siblings: Harold Granville Hernly (1908–1995), Mildred Lee Keyser (1909–2012), Margaret Lucille Benzies (1916–2006), and Frederick Amos Hernly (1921–c.2004). Her older sister, Mildred, lived to be 102.
Cantway graduated from Parker High School in 1932 while living in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. During the Great Depression, she secured a job at Swift & Co., where she worked until marrying Elmo Emery Cantway on 22 June 1940. When they began searching for a home of their own, she recalled seeing a house on a hill as they passed through a viaduct in Homewood. Although they initially visited a different house in the area, she was uncertain about it. However, Elmo, concerned about missing the opportunity, convinced her to purchase it. They raised their two children, Donald and Linda, there, and she spent most of her life in that home. Her husband passed away on 22 January 1982, aged 81.
LongeviQuest extends warm congratulations to Mary Cantway on her 111th birthday.
