At the young age of 98, Mary Long is still at the top of her game and using all of her time giving back to others. Mary has a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education but chose not to take any money for her work because all she wanted to do was volunteer.
Thirty-five years ago Mary started volunteering at the Lutheran Social Services Southside Food Pantry. She still makes it a point to work there once a month. She is very active in her quilting group which helps to make quilts for Lutheran World Relief, she’s an officer in the women’s association at her church, and is a part of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra Women’s Association. Mary says that her “most productive hours are the hour or hour and a half before breakfast.” Mary is also an advocate of the Faith Mission homeless shelter, where she has helped to raise thousands of dollars to fund a larger community kitchen.
Mary said that she received the best advice from her husband, who said, “don’t take yourself too seriously.” Mary is most proud of her work with the many choirs she volunteered her time with and says that she never had any trouble balancing all the things in her life. “Since I had no paid employment, I had a lot of time for all of the volunteer activities.”
Mary is inspired by people like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and Martin Luther. She also loves to hear a good symphony orchestra and to read one of David McCullough’s fantastic books about historical events to find inspiration.
Even at Mary’s age of 98, she enjoys traveling for the holidays and seeing family in New York City and San Francisco. Mary was told at a young age to keep very active mentally and physically. “I live by the quote ‘keep your mind and body active.’ I keep my weight down. Don’t eat between meals. I don’t drink soft drinks. I hope at my age just to keep healthy so that I can keep on doing what I am doing.”
With all of the volunteer work that Mary has done over her lifetime, she surprisingly has a different moment in her life that defines her. “The moment that best defines me is when I sing a soprano solo and I sing it well!”
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