Elizabeth Mae Giese

Centenarian Elizabeth Mae Giese, age 101 of Annandale, NJ, died peacefully of old age on November 19, 2021 in Flemington, NJ. She was born to Edna Mae Reynolds Mellott and Roy Calvin Mellott on April 22, 1920 in Morrison, IL in a house with no electricity or indoor plumbing.

Mae married Fred Giese in 1939. They kept their marriage secret for a year because they were so poor that they were forced to live separately. They had two sons, Lester in 1947 and Lyle in 1952. Fred and Mae purchased their farm from family members and in 1979 received “centennial” status from the State of Illinois for having a farm in the same family for over 100 years. Mae also worked for GE as an assembly line worker until 1979. After retirement, Fred and Mae sold the farm and moved into town. Fred passed away in 1990, having been married to Mae for 50 years. She was also predeceased by her three brothers, George, Earl, and Raymond. Mae moved to New Jersey in 2000 to live with her son, Lester, and his family.

Despite never completing high school Mae was an extremely talented artist, seamstress, self-taught organist and quilter. She collected thimbles and had over 200 from various locations around the world. Mae was not afraid of new technology and embraced computers in the 90s. She created and printed greeting cards to mail for birthdays and loved forwarding silly and sometimes problematic emails to friends and family. She continued emailing and online shopping until she was 99, when she could no longer live independently. Mae loved playing cards and was ruthless when it came to winning – very rarely did she lose in Skip-Bo or Phase 10.

It’s hard to comprehend living past 100 years. Mae was witness to so many incredible advances in the world that we take for granted. She was born in a home with no electricity, running water or toilets, but then saw man go to the moon.  It wasn’t until she moved to New Jersey in 2000 that she had her first automatic dishwasher. Simple things like refrigeration, plastics, air conditioning, highways, government assistance just did not exist or were not commonly available until Mae was already in her 30s and 40s.

Two years ago someone from Hunterdon County came to collect some memories on audiotape. When her family asked how the interview went, Mae said she had told the volunteer how poor her family was; her brother had to borrow shoes from another family to attend his 8^th grade graduation. The volunteer was shocked and asked why the government didn’t help them. Mae had to explain that back then, there was no government assistance, and the volunteer couldn’t believe it. Her life would have been completely different if she had been afforded the opportunities of our time.

Mae is survived by her two sons, Lester and Lyle, daughter in-laws Anne Thornton and Lois Giese, sister Mildred, grandchildren Brian (Maddie), Adam, Jason, Audra (John Barber) and TJ, great-granddaughters Riley, Scarlet and Vesper, her beloved grand-dog Bru and the hundreds of handmade quilts, baby blankets and pot holders that many people throughout the world have and cherish in their homes.

It was Mae’s wish that any memorial tributes be made in the form of donations to First Lutheran Church of Jordan, 20314 Hickory Hill Rd, Sterling, IL 61081, or Hunters Helping the Hungry (www.huntershelpingthehungry.org). Founded by her son, Lester, Mae spent countless hours helping HHH over the years by stuffing envelopes for mailings.

The family plans for a graveside memorial in Spring 2022 at First Lutheran Church of Jordan in Sterling, IL. Details will be determined at a later date. They would also like to extend their gratefulness and thanks to the wonderful staff at Hunterdon Care Center in Flemington for providing Mae with exemplary care for the past two years.

Complete arrangements are under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

You are encouraged to visit Mae’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

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