Jackson Free Press

Well-wishers are posting birthday greetings on Facebook for the first baby born at Baptist Health Systems, Mary Ormand Heald Sterrett, who turns 100 today.

"Happy birthday, Mrs. Sterrett! You are the first of many babies to be born at Baptist, including myself 33 years ago," Jennifer Burchfield-Sumrall posted. "Hope you have a great day!"

Sterrett, who now lives in Lexington, Va., was born Aug. 11, 1911 at the small, fledgling hospital. The staff put her in a laundry basket because they didn't have a baby bed. A staffer wrote in the hospital records, later found inside the hospital building cornerstone, that someone gave the baby girl a $5 gold piece. When she grew up, Sterritt used that $5 gold piece to travel to Oxford for her first job as a librarian at the University of Mississippi.

Dr. Harley Shands delivered Sterrett, and was her doctor throughout her childhood. "When I went to college, I had to have a physical and I went to his downtown office," she said in a news release. "(H)e told me the day I was born was the hottest day he'd ever experienced. He said, 'I had to change shirts twice!'"

"Hope you have a wonderful day," Angie Hayden Gillespie posted on the Facebook page. "I sent Dr. Shands' daughter, Suzanne, the message about your special day."

Sterrett grew up in Jackson and attended Millsaps College. "I walked every step of the way," she said. She earned a master's in library science from Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, Pa. She worked as a librarian off and on for years, including during the Great Depression in Connecticut, where she met her husband. After 35 years of marriage, he died in 1973. She later moved to Virginia.

"She's a continual inspiration to us and she's full of sage advice," Dr. Reid Sterrett, her son, said in a news release. He claims his mother is still very active, balances her own checkbook and writes thank-you notes.

The hospital reports that Sterrett's secret for a long life is eating turnip greens. The staff sent Sterrett flowers and a gift, and also encouraged its Facebook friends to wish the 100-year-old well on its Facebook page.

"Happy Birthday, Mrs. Sterrett," Wayne Walters posted. "Very inspiring life! I hope you have a terrific day!"

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164394

Comment

Message from Baptist: [blockquote]We are trying to get 100 comments to Mrs. Sterrett. She was the first baby born at Baptist hospital on August 11, 1911 and turns 100 today. We have about 50 more comments to go. Please post on your facebook page if you like. You can send a happy birthday greet to Mrs. Sterrett here: http://www.mbhs.org/mednews/baptist-for-women/we-need-your-birthday-wishes-first-baby-born-at-baptist-celebrates-her-100th-birthday/ Or on our facebook page here: www.facebook.com/baptistmednews Thanks![/blockquote]

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2011-08-11T15:57:22-06:00