08-02-2025
Immigrating from Scotland, centenarian Mary Waddington helped in WWII war effort
There must be something in Mary Waddington's genes.
The longtime Michigan Avenue resident will turn 100 years old on Monday and she's not the only one in her family who has reached the milestone. Her mother was 99 when she passed away and her two younger sisters Elenor and Janet will be 97 and 94, respectively, this year. She also had a cousin who lived to be 100 years old.
'We're hoping all the rest of us have all those good genes,' said daughter Penny Schultz.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, as Mary Dickson, her father Matthew immigrated to the United States in 1926 to find work, bringing his parents, brother, wife and sister with him. They first settled in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where Matthew worked as a gardener, with Mary and her mother following to America when she was two and a half years old.
After graduating high school in 1942, with the U.S. in the thick of World War II, she took a job at the Quonset Point Naval Air Station, located south of Providence along the Narragansett Bay. Working as one of its 'Rosie the Riveters,' she built parts for the wings, tails, and bodies of Navy aircraft stationed on aircraft carriers.
'I needed a job,' Waddington said, still possessing her job application. 'My mother heard of them needing workers. I went up and applied and got the job.'
Working nine-hour days, six days a week, Waddington would cut the plane parts from 10- to 12-foot sheets of metal. During her three years as a civilian worker, she had the highest efficiency rate in her shop.
It was also in the shop where she met her first husband, Niagara Falls native William Colling.
A graduate of the old Niagara Falls High School, Colling got involved with the war effort while in college in Chicago. He joined the Navy and worked at the Bell Aircraft plant in Wheatfield before being reassigned to Quonset Point. He worked with Mary in that shop until the war ended in 1945.
'He was here in Niagara Falls, I was there (in Rhode Island) and we missed each other,' Mary said.
They got married in Rhode Island in 1946 and moved back to Niagara Falls, living in the same Michigan Avenue house his grandparents built — and she still lives in. He went to the University of Buffalo to be an engineer while she became a full-time housewife for their five children, Bob, Sue, Penny, Claudia, and Mark.
As the kids were growing up, Mary was involved with the PTA, drove for Meals on Wheels, served as an elder and deacon of Pierce Avenue Presbyterian Church where she taught Sunday school for 35 years. After the church burned down in 2011, she started attending Lewiston Presbyterian Church and has not missed a Sunday Mass.
Only when Mary's children were old enough to take care of themselves did she get a job as a housecleaner.
Matt passed away at the age of 62. Seven years later, Mary was remarried to Tom Waddington, bringing three new stepchildren into the family. That marriage lasted for 23 years until he passed in 2013.
Those five children and three great-grandchildren have given her 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, the majority still living in Niagara County and Western New York.
While Mary never dreamed of making it to 100, her eating habits and active lifestyle certainly helped. She was able to kayak and serve Meals on Wheels until the age of 93.
Still, Bob lives with his mother to take care of her, with Sue and Penny visiting frequently to help.
'I thank God every day for another day added to my life,' Mary said.
For Mary's birthday, the family and close friends will have a get-together at Lewiston Presbyterian Church today, also expecting a cake during the coffee hour that follows Sunday service. She already was recognized at the Robert Burns dinner held Jan. 25 at Frontier Fire Hall, with 'Happy Birthday' played on the bagpipes.
'That's what she likes most is having family around,' Schultz said. 'We'll let her rest on her birthday.'
