Active Little Company volunteer celebrates 100th birthday

The Beverly Review
Wednesday, January 13, 2010

From streetcars to buses and movie tickets priced from ten cents to nearly ten dollars, many changes have occurred in one century. However, there are a few items that still remain. Little Company of Mary (LCM) Hospital and Health Care Centers is celebrating the generosity of longstanding volunteer Marianne Brashinger’s 100th birthday.

In the company of her friends at Little Company of Mary Hospital, Brashinger, of Evergreen Park, celebrated her 100-year birthday on Dec. 19. As Marianne recounts the many memories she has witnessed, she says she is especially thankful for the generosity she continues to see daily, yet it is she who continues to donate her time. In the 28 years that Brashinger has volunteered at Little Company of Mary, she has donated more than 22,000 hours of help and says she has no plans to stop.

Brashinger’s volunteerism began at Little Company of Mary when a friend told her the hospital was looking for volunteers, and asked Brashinger to join her in 1981. Brashinger said that her religion inspired and motivated her, so she decided to help others by offering communion to patients at the hospital. She is a certified Eucharistic minister at St. Bernadette Roman Catholic Church, in Evergreen Park. She wanted to offer her services to the ill that wanted to receive the sacrament during their stay at the hospital. Till this day, Brashinger continues to punch in at 9 a.m., make her way to the patient units, and obtain a room list to offer communion to those who request it.

Eucharistic ministry is only a part-time job for Brashinger though, she spent the majority of her 28 years in the gift shop at Little Company of Mary. She helped guests find the perfect gift for family members in the hospital. She said those were some of the most memorable times in her life, with all of the different people she met, stories they shared and mostly the friendships that were made.

Brashinger has been the recipient of several community awards including Evergreen Park Hall of Fame, Most Outstanding Senior Citizen Award, the Marge Sturm Award, the Sheriff’s Senior Medal of Honor Award and the LCM Auxiliary Award. At 100-years-old, she shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, in her limited spare time, she crochets knit hats and blankets for newborn babies at the hospital as well as lap robes for wheelchairs that she donates to the Evergreen Park Community Center where she also volunteers her time. At the center, she assists with daily activities, such as making crafts with others whose ages normally fall under her own, which she said, doesn’t bother her.

Brashinger said, “I enjoy being with people.”

Even in celebration of her birthday, Brashinger said there’s no retiring at home any time soon.

“Some times I think about it,” she said, “but the doctor says, keep doing what your doing.”

Brashinger’s friend, Clara Rock, a fellow volunteer at LCM said, “We always look forward to working with Marianne, we are a team, it’s what keeps us going.”

Brashinger remembers when she broke her hip four years ago and couldn’t volunteer for a couple of months.

“My mailbox was filled with greeting cards. I didn’t realize how many friends I had.”

Brahsinger said that celebrating her 100-year birthday feels the same as any other birthday, but offered words of advice to others on staying active, “volunteer.”

Mary Ann Brashinger is how her name was typed and signed in her 1934 and 1940 naturalization documents.

She was listed as Maria on the ship's manifest when she immigrated in 1921.

This photo comes from Mary Ann's 1934 Declaration of Intention (intention to become a naturalized United States citizen) document.

That document and four other naturalization documents can be seen beginning here: Marianne.

Click on the arrow to the right of "Image 94 of 880" to see the other documents.
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Palos Heights: 100-year-old volunteer still gives her all

December 25, 2009|By Janice Neumann, SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

By all accounts Marianne Brashinger's daily to-do list could just as easily serve as a how-to guide to a long and purpose-driven life.

Evergreen Park's oldest and most-beloved resident, Brashinger, 100, volunteers at various village and community organizations nearly 40 hours per week and doesn't intend on stopping any time soon.

She takes phone calls and helps out with pinochle and crafts at Evergreen Park's Office of Citizen Services, gives communion and volunteers in the gift shop at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, and takes blood pressure readings at the Fire Department.

In her spare time, she does plastic needlepoint and crochets blankets for hospital patients.

Her nearly 30 years of volunteer service has earned Brashinger the Cook County Sheriff's Medal of Honor, awards from the PLOWS Council on Aging in Palos Heights, and Hall of Fame recognition during Evergreen Park's centennial in 1993.

"I just enjoy it," Brashinger said of volunteering.

To show their appreciation, Evergreen Park officials threw Brashinger a party Saturday on her 100th birthday, with cake and refreshments at the village's seniorcenter. About 50 of her admirers, many of them fellow senior citizen volunteers as well as relatives, celebrated and congratulated her on reaching the 100-year milestone.

Brashinger worked the crowd, her bright blue eyes shining as she chatted with friends.

Mayor Jim Sexton honored Brashinger with a plaque proclaiming Dec. 19 Marianne Brashinger Day and giving her a key to the village.

"How appropriate they gave you the key to the city, because you have the key to all our hearts," said Jolene Churak, director of the Office of Citizen Services.

Churak, who has worked with Brashinger for 20 years, said she organized the party because she loved Brashinger and because "She has given so much. We just want to honor her in some small way."

"She's just so calm and easygoing and just goes with everything that happens," said Maryann Diehl, Churak's assistant, who has worked with Brashinger for years.

Brashinger has lived in Evergreen Park with her sister, Madalene Willand, for the past 35 years. Originally from Austria, Brashinger retired from an office job at the Almore Dye House in Chicago in the 1980s and then started volunteering.

Though Brashinger uses a walker, her only significant healthproblem is a heart ailment. She didn't start seeing a doctor until she was in her 90s, she said.

The staff at the Little Company of Mary Hospital has also thrown Brashinger a birthday party this month because of her many years of service there. And Terry O'Brien, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, and state Sen. Edward Maloney (D-Chicago) – both of whom attended and spoke at Saturday's party – plan to sponsor resolutions honoring Brashinger.

"If we had more people like Marianne doing community service, we'd live in a much better place than we do," said Maloney.