Oakland County woman celebrates 110th birthday

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (Fox 2) - Family, friends, and Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter gathered Friday to honor a family matriarch, Mary Couch, as she celebrates her 110th birthday.

"On behalf of Oakland County and your neighbors happy birthday," Coulter said.

Couch was born in Georgia on Nov. 11, 1912,  the same year the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank.

She has been an eyewitness to many things. Couch moved to Michigan at 5 years old and has called the state her home ever since.

As a young woman, Couch was the secretary of the Detroit Stars Negro League Baseball team, and she stood with activists like Rosa Parks to demand equal rights for all.

"Se was a very lovely lady that was making ways for you when you didn’t have one,"

Couch says her longevity in life is a blessing from above.

"The Lord has been good to me," she said. 

Through the years, Couch saw progress, not only in civil rights but in her own life. She married the love of her life, Archie Couch, and they had nine children.She’s now a grandmother and great-great-grandmother, meeting one of the newest members of her family at this celebration.

Through it all prayer has been the center of it all, allowing her faith to guide her even when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at 92. She trusted God to see her through the dark time.

"It’s part of my life it keeps me living," she said.

Family members say over the years their matriarch has been their foundation, their rock, and the source of wisdom.

"She is the most amazing person she has taught me how to be a good mother first and foremost," one relative said.

Couch says her words of wisdom for living a meaningful life add up to this: "Nothing but friendliness and kindness as much as you possibly can."