Resident recalls a century of the good life Mary Storms is about to turn 100 years old, remembers life in NYC BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer Mary Storms WOODBRIDGE - As Mary Storms gets ready to celebrate her centennial birthday on March 30, she reminisces about her days growing up in the "Big Apple" as if it were yesterday. "There's so many funny little things that have happened in my life," said Storms as she sat in her wheelchair at the Roosevelt Care Center in Edison recently. "I could write a book on my whole life." Storms, who just a year-and-a-half ago moved into the Roosevelt Care Center, was living on her own at the Finn Tower, which is one of the senior housing facilities in Woodbridge. "She moved there on her own when she was 92 years old," said Carole Favilla, who is Storms' daughter. "She would also still put a pot on the stove." Storms was born near Battery Park in 1907. She is the oldest of her four sisters. As the city was developing, Storms' family moved uptown near Gramercy Park. Her childhood consisted of singing with her parents on Sunday afternoons in the dining room and having elaborate picnics, but the one thing she came to fear was swimming in water. "I remember my father one day pulled me into the ocean," she said. "He scared me so much and since then I became afraid of going under the water. I love the water, but I won't go in it." When Storms was 16 years old, she attended continuation school and eventually worked in a paper factory. "My boss at the factory told me, 'Mary, you shouldn't be working here … you should broaden your education,' " she said. Although, Storms said she never graduated from school, she kept on educating herself by taking evening courses on everything she could get her hands on. "I would always be doing something," she said. "My sister would always tease me because I would want to learn. She would always say, 'Oh, Mary wants to go there to learn.' My father would ask her to keep quiet." Storms also would attend services and sing in her church's choir at St. Thomas Episcopal Church on Fifth Avenue. She would attend the many parades, which included the Columbus Day parade and the St. Patrick's Day parade, held in the city every year. "I would just have a wonderful time at the many parades," she said with a smile on her face. Storms was married to William George Storms at St. Thomas Episcopal Church when she was 21 years old in 1928. "I remember when I met William," she said. "We were at this social club that we would go and dance. It was a Sunday afternoon and his mother actually pushed him to asked me to dance. From then we would write to each other and hold hands. It was the best of times." Before they were married, Storms said her husband had to tell her a secret. "When he told me he had a secret, I couldn't think of what it could be," said Storms, whose face lit up when she thought back to when her husband told her his secret. "He said I am younger than you. It turned out he was two years younger than me. He gave me such a beautiful ring with rubies and diamonds." The Storms lived in the Bronx where they raised their family. They had two sons, Bill and Bob, and a daughter Carole. Mary spent her time volunteering at hospitals and became a Red Cross Gray Lady, who provided nonmedical, personal services with the American Red Cross Gray Lady Service. She was a den mother to her son Billy's Boy Scout group. Her husband worked on the railroad line. Storms said her life changed altogether one day in 1972. "My husband and I would have our usual cup of tea before he would go to work," she said. "After we had our cup of tea, he complained about a pain in his side. My reaction was he should go to the doctor, but he said it's probably just gas, but evidently it wasn't just gas. He reached 50th Street where he worked and fell down a flight of stairs and died. His company called me asking where he was. It's not like him to be late because he was always on time. A half-hour later, I got the knock on my door that he was gone." At 65, Storms for the first time learned how to drive. "I was so nervous and stiff," she said. "I took 50 to 60 lessons. My teacher would always say sit back and ask me why I was so stiff. I was saving up to buy a car, but I never did buy a car." Storms began working as a cashier and worked her way up to a sales lady for the Macy's department store on 34th Street. Later on, she got a job at Banker's Trust located in lower Manhattan and then got into the hotel business because she said more money could be made there. She said she loved working in the hotel business, but while she was working in the hotel she worked part time in a private club in Astoria, Queens, N.Y., and volunteered at a hospital in Englewood. She eventually had to quit because she got sick. When Storms moved to North Jersey, she started a new career teaching English as a second language. "I enjoyed teaching anyone who would want to learn English," she said. "Even now, I still try in an indirect way to correct a person if they are saying a word incorrectly." Storms is still active by attending various classes at the nursing home, which includes art and exercise classes. She has a love for painting and has her own artwork up on her wall in her room. Family, friends and staff at the Roosevelt Care Center will have a birthday celebration at the nursing for Storms on March 30, which will include a DJ, cake and refreshments.