Longtime Leonard resident Mary Sue Sutherby is poised to join an exclusive club that has a century-long waiting list.

When her birthday rolls around on Nov. 14, she will officially become a centenarian – a person who’s reached the age of 100.

Sutherby has a very nonchalant attitude about this impending milestone.

“I don’t mind it at all,” she said.

Honestly, she didn’t think she’d live so long.

“I was sick a lot when I was young,” said Sutherby, who now lives at McLaren Oakland’s Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Lake Orion.

Her son Richard said that she and his dad, John Sutherby, had always planned on her being the first one to pass away.

That plan changed when John died on Nov. 6, 1972 at the age of 61.

Sutherby’s life, which began just three days after World War I ended, has been filled with hard work, sacrifice, devotion to family friends and community, and lots of love.

Her conduct and decisions have been guided by some sage advice she received as a child.

“My mother always told me to treat other people how I would like to be treated,” she said. “I tried to do that.”

“She never talked bad about anybody. She wasn’t a gossiper,” said her daughter Verna Briggs.

Sutherby, whose maiden name is King, was born in Tennessee as the oldest of six brothers and sisters, all of whom she’s outlived.

She got her first taste of hard work at age 9 when her father told her she was a “big girl” now and it was time for her to start cooking breakfast for the family.

In the South, breakfast wasn’t just pouring a bowl of cold cereal. She had to prepare meat, biscuits and potatoes using a wood-burning stove.

During her childhood, Sutherby and her family moved seven times before finally landing in the Village of Leonard. She was 15 at the time.

It didn’t take her long to establish roots. She married John two months after her 16th birthday.

Together, they built a life and raised three children –  Richard, Verna and Dan. Today, that family now includes seven grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren.

Sutherby was a busy lady. Outside of maintaining a home and raising kids, she held various jobs, ranging from being a clerk at a local grocery store to working in a factory that manufactured fishing rods.

Her favorite job was the 25-plus years she spent as the head cook for the Leonard and Lakeville schools. She prepared every meal from scratch and was known for her delicious pizza and chocolate chip cookies.

Sutherby loved the students.

“I really enjoyed working with the kids,” she said. “They always talked to me. The other people would just go through (the line) and not say a word.”

She retired from the schools in 1981.

In the community, Sutherby was quite active when it came to helping the Addison Township Fire Department with fund-raisers and planning the annual Strawberry Festival.

Her husband, who had also worked for the schools as a custodian and bus driver, helped found the fire department in 1949 and served as chief from 1971-72.

Sutherby’s children couldn’t say enough good things about her.

“She’s a wonderful mother,” Verna said. “We’re very fortunate to have her . .  . She sacrificed a lot for us. We didn’t have much money, but mom always made sure we ate well and had clothes.”

“She gave us a good life,” Richard said. “She loves us all.”

To her daughter-in-law, Char, who’s married to Dan, a true testament to Sutherby’s love for her children exists in the receipts she found for the medical treatment her husband received at a very young age.

Born with a cleft palate and cleft lip, Dan underwent multiple surgeries before the age of 2. Sutherby baked and sold cakes and pies on the side to pay for her son’s procedures.

“I think that’s incredible because I’ve known of people (who) were well-to-do that never had the surgeries for their babies that Danny had,” Char said. “I just think that’s a big tribute to her as a mom.”

To celebrate Sutherby’s 100th birthday, an open house will be held at the McLaren Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Lake Orion on Saturday, Nov. 10 from 2-4 p.m.