Family members, some coming from as far away as Reno, got together Saturday to honor their mother and grandmother, Mary Ellen Wheeler, as she celebrated her 101st birthday.  

Mary Ellen was delighted to have all there. 

“It’s good to see everyone,” she said. “But this is a bit more than necessary.” 

Born to Laurence and Lillian Schwab on June 11, 1925, in Bloomington, Ind., Mary Ellen spent her early years living in a modest house on her grandmother’s back lot. 

Mary Ellen had three siblings, William, Becky and Patti. 

“When I was 10, I was sent to Arkansas to live with my grandmother’s sister until I graduated from high school,” she said. 

Mary Ellen recalled fond memories growing up in the early '30s and mid-'40s. 

“It was really great — the Big Band Era,” Mary Ellen said. “I loved dancing the jitterbug to that music.” 

Her first job was as an office worker at a grocery store. 

On Easter Sunday, April 21, 1946, at the age of 20, Mary Ellen married Leon Wheeler. 

“I was going to high school in Little Rock, then Hawaii was bombed. The war started, and my aunt was transferred to Sugar, Ark., and that's where I spent my senior year,” Mary Ellen said. “A man at the school was my biology teacher. I really liked him, but he was my teacher. Then he was called to the war in December of '42.” 

Leon was also a high school and college football coach. Before he left, Mary Ellen said he asked to kiss her goodbye. 

“I said OK. In January of '43, he wrote to me, and we continued to write back and forth until July of '44,” Mary Ellen said. “He asked me to marry him and said football will always be his first love, and that I will come second.” 

After the war, Leon and Mary Ellen moved to Southern California, where Leon continued to coach football. Mary Ellen had worked for General Mills and in real estate. In the '50s, they moved to Mexico and then to Kerrville, Texas.  

Leon died in 2006. He and Mary Ellen had four children: Leon Jr., Cathay, Barbara and Lee. They also have 17 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

In 2022, Lee, who had been living in Hayden, moved Mary Ellen into the Honeysuckle Senior Living Center with the help of other family members. 

Mary Ellen said she’s seen this country change a lot over the years, and not necessarily for the better. 

"There used to be a time when everybody loved everybody else — wasn’t a lot of criticism like there is now,” Mary Ellen said. “So many have lost their morals, and that's a sad thing.” 

Mary Ellen said there are three things she’d like family and friends to remember her for. 

“Being a good mother, grandmother and a good cook,” she said.  

Mary Ellen offered these words of wisdom: 

“Love everyone, be good to them and always be truthful.” 

    Sharing memories at Mary Ellen Wheeler's birthday party on Saturday.