Remembering Mattie Owens, 119 Avid churchgoer worked into her 90s

For Mrs. Owens, that decision came almost 30 years ago. The former Long Beach resident died on Feb. 6 at the Bayview Nursing Home after battling heart failure and skin cancer. According to family members, Mrs. Owens was 119 years old. No one was ever quite sure of her age -- for many years, Mrs. Owens was known to answer inquiries by saying she was "'round 80 or so" -- until a grandson, James Elrod of Long Beach, checked with the Social Security office and was told his grandmother was born on Oct. 15, 1883. Born Mattie Arnold in Greenville County, S.C., Mrs. Owens was the daughter of a former slave. In a 1994 Newsday article, family members said she had worked in the fields as a youngster, picking cotton and driving mules. She never went to school, but one granddaughter said she remembered teaching Mrs. Owens to sign her name. In the 1940s, Mrs. Owens accepted a domestic job and moved to Long Beach, Elrod said. She married George Owens, and the couple had four children. She continued to clean houses until 1987. Mrs. Owens worked all the time, family members said, and loved her work. Yet she always found time to attend the Christian Light Baptist Missionary Church. "She loved to go to church," said her daughter, Immajean McKesson, of Norfolk, Va. She also spent much of her time with her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Another of Mrs. Owens's passions was driving, Elrod said. At 80, she bought a brand new car, and she drove until she was 90, he said. After falling ill about a decade ago, Mrs. Owens moved into the Bayview Nursing Home across the Long Beach Bridge in Island Park, said her grand-nephew, Walter Sherred of Long Beach. Sherred works at the Bayview Nursing Home and saw her often. "She was very strict, and she didn't take no 'junk,'" Sherred said lightheartedly. "Whatever she said, you did." Mrs. Owens was predeceased by two sons, Alvin and Mack Elrod. Besides her daughter and grandson, she is survived by a son, Capus Elrod of Florida; 27 grandchildren; and numerous great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. A funeral was held on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at the Christian Light Baptist Missionary Church, followed by a burial at Pinelawn Cemetery. Former Long Beach resident Mattie Owens was born Mattie Arnold in Greenville, S.C., in October of 1883. Other highlights of that year: - The Brooklyn Bridge opened. - The first skyscraper was built in Chicago -- a stunning 10 stories high. - Mark Twain published "Huckleberry Finn." - The telephone was 6 years old, the lightbulb 4. Chicago became one of the first cities to be electrically lighted. The first long-distance telephone service was inaugurated between New York City and Chicago. - Chester A. Arthur was president. - "Buffalo Bill" (William F. Cody) opened his series of "Wild West" shows in Omaha, Neb. - The Metropolitan Opera House opened on Broadway in New York City with a performance of "Foust," by Charles Francois Gounod. - The United States was divided into four time zones to reduce complications caused by differences in railroad schedules. - The City of Long Beach was 40 years away from existence.
Keith Grant contributed to this article.