As friends and family gathered at Balagio Restaurant in Homewood on Sept. 30, Mary Cantway was less impressed with her age than with the number of people who showed up to wish her a happy 111th birthday.

“I am so fortunate to have so many friends,” she said. “I’ve got it made.”

The secret to her longevity, a question she gets asked every year? 

“Keep going,” she said. “I don’t know of anything else. I don’t know what I did.”

She did acknowledge that she swam three times a week for 40 years, and that might have helped. She has kept as active as possible, even after passing the century mark. She continued to drive until she was 105.

As for her plans for the future, “keep going” sums them up.

“Just to go day to day is enough,” she said. 

One friend at the party, Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld, marveled at her continued vigor.

“Mary is truly an amazing person. She does crossword puzzles every day. She just keeps herself active all the time,” he said. “She’s an inspiration to all of us.”

Hofeld said the village is planning to honor her by adding a garden at the north end of Harwood Avenue near where she lives. He said it would probably be named the Mary Cantway Wayside. 

According to Gerontology Wiki, Cantway is the sixth oldest person in Illinois. The oldest is 113. The record age in the state was 114.