MORGANTOWN –“I would rather talk than eat,” said Marie Antoinette Comley to a sea of guests on Saturday coming to greet her.
“I’m so excited. I’ve had such a wonderful life,” said Marie.
Oct 20. marks her 100th birthday. Her friends and family gathered on Saturday to celebrate 100 years of that wonderful life.
“She’s getting along pretty good and she has a lot of friends around here,” said her son Don Comley.
Marie enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a registered nurse in World War II.
“When I was I was in the service, I’m so glad I had that experience,” she said.
Don said she worked for Dr. Thompson, Greco, Stevens and Kerr in Morgantown. She trained at City Hospital, which was located on Willey Street. Don said now it’s an apartment complex.
“She worked in there and did her nurses training in that old brick house when you start up Willey Street on the right…the nurses all stayed in there and then they walked to the hospital and back. She always mentions that,” said Don.
Marie had triplets, sadly one passed away. Don is one of the brothers, and Dave is the other.
“If she survived us that’s really something. We were tougher on her than World War II was,” joked Don.
Trudy Satterfield’s mother, Juanita Shank (Toland) worked with Marie as a nurse for many years. She said that they were good friends. The family has kept in touch over the years.
“The family grew up together. When they were born mother helped with the triplets,” she said.
Marie was also featured in a WWII documentary called “Ageless Friends.” Maarten Vossen, who traveled all the way from the Netherlands for Marie’s birthday said where he lives there’s an American cemetery of those who died in WWII. He adopted a grave of a man named James Wickline, but that’s all he knew about the fallen soldier. He wanted to know more.
After writing letters and having no luck, he came to Morgantown because he knew Wickline was from the area. Wickline was from Osage, where Marie is from. He came back in 2014 and that’s when he met Marie.
“Marie told me that she actually grew up with James…to find out and hear personal stories of who James really was, that’s so amazing and I was able to see much more pictures of James,” he said.
Elahe Tadoyon, Marie’s caretaker, said she is a very precious and kind. She said one thing she’s learned from Marie is how to be more thankful.
“All the time, even if she asks me some question and I answer, she says ‘thank you, thank you thank you’ three times. I’ve learned that, I think that thanking is the secret of her life,” she said.
Marie said she had a good feeling in her heart because she has so many friends. Her cake, with cats on it, paid homage to her cats Molly and Buddy. She said she did not expect such a large turn out and she was thrilled.
“To think that I have so many friends that believe in me, trust me or pray for me,” she said.
