A northeastern Oklahoma woman who will turn 100 years old Thursday will also be celebrating her 25th birthday, according to reports.
Mary Lea Forsythe was born in Sand Springs on a Leap Day, Feb. 29, 1924, ABC7 reported. Given that leap years occur once every four years, Forsythe will technically be marking only her 25th birthday despite being a centenarian, according to the report.
Forsythe told ABC7 she celebrated her birthdays during non-leap years two or three times, including alongside her late husband William Wayne Forsythe, who was born Mar. 6 and whom she met in high school, according to the report.
“I always thought I was blessed,” Forsythe reportedly said. “It was so much fun. We celebrated whenever we wanted to.”
Once, the pair reportedly went to a diner on William Forsythe’s birthday as the diner offered free breakfast to any birthday celebrant. The server was skeptical about Forsythe’s claim that she and her husband share the Mar. 6 birthday.
“His birthday is March 6, and mine is Feb. 29. And there is no 29th on the calendar this year. So, mine is March 6,” she reportedly told the server. The couple ate the free breakfast that day, the report noted.
The couple were singers, performing with banjo bands in communities and restaurants in Tulsa. Forsythe, an alto, described her late husband of nearly 70 years, “He was beautiful. He was handsome…. And he had a bass voice that won first in this state when he was in high school,” she reportedly said.
Forsythe, a mother of two, grandmother of five, and great-grandmother of 11, was also a law firm secretary and an author, the report noted. (RELATED: 100-Year-Old Pearl Harbor Survivor Gets High-Profile Happy Birthday)
Mary Forsythe may be turning 100 years old tomorrow, but as a Leap Day baby, she’s technically turning 25! 🎂🎉🥳 https://t.co/6Xj0O94rND pic.twitter.com/KXZjzGDJod
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) February 29, 2024
“Mary Lea loves all things musical and plays the piano and mandolin. Her favorite song is Sitting at the Feet of Jesus. Mary Lea reminds us to all Read the Bible. We welcome her into the Centenarians of Oklahoma Hall of Fame!” the nonprofit Centenarians of Oklahoma said in a statement.
Forsythe has lived her entire life in Sand Springs, according to the Sand Springs Leader.
Sand Springs Vice Mayor Beau Wilson declared Feb. 29, 2024, as Mary Lea Rogers Forsythe Day in Sand Springs and presented her with the mayoral declaration, the Sand Springs Leader noted.
Forsythe reportedly survives her seven siblings. The “You Are Fantastic” author reportedly said, “I just really enjoy living. I’ve always said I’m going to live a long time. My aunt lived to be 107, and I’m going to surpass her.”