At 102-years-old Maxine Glaze really only cares for God and loving her family.

Maxine was born on August 29, 1921, in Vancouver, Washington, where she said life was pretty normal apart from living through the great depression and World War II.

“I was the oldest of five kids, and that was during the depression, and it wasn’t a very wonderful childhood, but we managed. We went to the salvation army every few weeks and got our food,” Maxine said. “But, later on, when the war started, everybody got work, so we jumped into that, and that’s how we started.”

Maxine said her family had very little to eat. She said most of her family’s diet was potatoes, gravy, and oatmeal. Despite that, she said she grew up happy. She said everyone in her family would take care of each other. She said her first memory was from when she was around two or three years old, going on a walk.

“My Mom and Dad were taking me for a walk, and something black was following me, and I was scared to death, it was my shadow,” Maxine said. “I ran to my Mom and Dad [and said] protect me. That was my earliest memory. I hadn’t thought of that until now. I could even see the street we were on. That was strange.”

In Middle School, Maxine said she was quite shy, but in High School, she opened up a little but still was shy. Maxine said she couldn’t bring lunch to school, so she would be starving during lunchtime every day.

She said she was too shy to accept food from anyone or ask for food, so she always just told people she wasn’t hungry. Eventually, Maxine said she got a job in town and could afford to pack lunches for her brother and her.

In 1940, she graduated from Vancouver High School, went to Portland, and attended Bible school. Maxine said there she met her husband, Jack Glaze, and after they finished school, they got married. She said they had six children, 16 grandchildren, and 27 great-grandchildren.

Maxine said she spent the rest of her life as a stay-at-home Mom, and whenever she wasn’t doing that, she would volunteer as a secretary at a local church or take care of kids.

They ended up in Enumclaw about 48 years ago because when they were working in Dreary, Idaho, one of their friends told her husband Jack there was an opening for a chaplain at a nursing home in Enumclaw, and their friend thought Jack should apply. They were hesitant, but eventually, they said why not, put in an application, and moved to Enumclaw.

When they moved to Enumclaw, she said they bought the house for $500. Maxine said she enjoys Enumclaw, and her home there is her favorite place in the world. She said she likes how it’s a quiet town with low crime, and she thinks God knew she would grow old there because there aren’t very many steps.

15 years ago, her husband, Jack Glaze, died. After that, she’s been living on her own at her house, but she said she’s never without visitors, and she hardly gets a minute to herself, which she likes.

Nowadays, to fill her time, Maxine started a mail ministry where she sends various kinds of letters, around 30-40 a month, she said. Maxine said she sends letters all over the world, and they’re mostly get-well, birthday, or sympathy cards. She said she hardly has to buy any supplies because people usually donate stamps and envelopes to her.

Maxine said Christianity is a large part of her life, spending most of her life in churches since she was 12. She said at 12, she became Christian, and because of that, she decided never to drink alcohol or smoke. She said this might be why she has lived so long, but she attributes her long life to God caring for her.

Despite having many health problems, Maxine said life keeps moving, and she still has more plans.

“What I want to do with my life, I want to stay alive. There’s a lot of people I would like to see who I need to apologize to,” Maxine said. “I haven’t been a very good friend and would like to share the gospel with them. Other than that, just whatever comes along.”