Supercentenarian Profile

Mary Rapach

Born:

1916-03-25

Harwood Mines, Hazleton, Pennsylvania

United States

Current Residence:

Tamaqua, Pennsylvania

United States

Mary Rapach (née Wassil) is an American supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Mary Rapach was born in the village of Harwood Mines, near Hazleton, Pennsylvania, on 25 March 1916, to parents Michael and Katherine Wassil. She had six siblings – Anna, Rose, Nick, Joseph, John and Stanley, and Mary was second youngest, next to Stanley. Mary’s father, a coal miner, died during the Spanish flu epidemic when she was just two years old. He had been assisting funeral directors during the 1918 outbreak and contracted the illness himself.

Mary attended a one-room schoolhouse in Harwood Mines through the sixth grade, which was the extent of her formal education. As a teenager, she worked as a babysitter to help support her family. During the Great Depression, she was employed as a sewing machine operator in a garment factory. For a time, she also modeled hats at Diesroth’s department store in Hazleton.

Mary’s husband, Andrew Rapach, was a decorated World War II veteran. He received the Purple Heart and was awarded five Bronze Stars while serving with the Fourth Armored Division. The couple had two children. She was widowed in 1990.

When she was 108, her granddaughter attributed her longevity to a calm demeanor and the ability to keep busy.