Mary Cantway

BIOGRAPHY

Mary 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.

For nearly 40 years, until 2019, she was a member of the H-F Racquet & Fitness Club, where she swam regularly until around the age of 105. After a fall in her later years, her exercise became more limited but still remained a part of her daily routine. Throughout her life, she visited most of the 50 U.S. states, as well as China and Switzerland, and enjoyed cruises to Mexico, Greece, and Alaska.

Even at 108, she enjoyed puzzle books and stayed current with modern technology, often using her computer to play games. She still watched some television news and preferred to read in the evenings. By the age of 108, she had six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.