Marian Baldwin celebrates her 100th

Posted 2/1/23

Marian Baldwin celebrated her 100th birthday with her church family and friends on January 29.

She has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Marlboro for 16 years, transferring from …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Marian Baldwin celebrates her 100th

Posted

Marian Baldwin celebrated her 100th birthday with her church family and friends on January 29.

She has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Marlboro for 16 years, transferring from Trinity Methodist Church in Newburgh.

Marian was born in Newburgh, the daughter of Foteos and Despina Apostilou, both immigrants from Greece. Her parents ran a grocery store and she grew up speaking Greek as her first language. She fondly remembers playing outside at Washington’s Headquarters and with cousins and other Greek children.

Marian married Jackson Baldwin, who she initially hesitated to marry due to her young age. He always said he had to propose six times. However, he was persuasive and they had a successful and interesting life together.

Jackson was ambitious and Marian supported him in all his ventures, including farming, real estate and making homemade ice cream. Despite only having a high school education, she was able to manage their finances and passed down her keen mind to her children. When everyone else turned to the computer (which she does know how to use), she still wrote out the numbers in a ledger in long-hand.

On her 100th birthday, Marian was surrounded by family and friends who gathered more than 220 birthday cards for her. Her church family organized a worship service and a party, with a cake shaped like a Scrabble board. Her church family wanted to shower her with 100 birthday cards and succeeded in gathering more than 220! Some were sent in from Marlboro Elementary School and Stepping Stones Early Learning Center.

The family took Marian to lunch at the Raccoon Saloon following the party. There must have been 40 or more, including her great grandson, Sebastian, who turned two on her birthday.

The next day, her neighbors threw another celebration for her at Woodland Pond.

Marian is an avid Scrabble player and continues to inspire others with her 100 years of wisdom and experiences.