GODFREY - Rosemary Manns turned 100 on Friday and she is described by both her grandson and son as "the sweetest and smartest lady they have ever met." In amazing fashion, she still reads a book a day, her grandson said.
Her grandson, Mike, a firefighter, and his father, James, live in Kansas, but they still get back to see her frequently.
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Rosemary had four children - James, Leslie, Tom and Marilyn. She has a multitude of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
"My grandmother is extremely intelligent," he said. "She is also super modest and doesn't want any attention. She has always cared for other people and set the foundation for me and others in the family to want to serve people and help others."
Rosemary and her husband, Erwin, were always happy together, her grandson said.
Rosemary is a strong Catholic and has been a member at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Godfrey for many years.
"She has been somebody that has been a definite leader of the family spiritually and from a foundational sense," Mike said.
"I always look forward to seeing her. I get up to see her in Godfrey as often as I can, probably four or five times a year. The family is all very close. They always say when Rosemary prays for you, you know you have somebody good on your side close to God."
Jim Manns, her son, said his mother is a lovely lady and has always been a loving mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother. He said his mother was married to his father for more than 50 years.
The Manns family all went to Marquette Catholic, he said.
Rosemary passed her driver's test in recent years and is still alert and sharp, her son said.
"I was a one-year-old when they moved into the house in Godfrey," he said. "She has incredible faith. I was raised Catholic and we raised our kids Catholic and their kids raised their kids Catholic, so we are definitely a Catholic family."
