LAUREL — Marklyn Lynn, who also goes by Mark, a 100-year-old Laurel resident celebrated her birthday centennial on Friday.
“Mark is an angel in disguise," said Charlotte Lynn (unrelated), who is the event coordinator at The Crossings, Mark's senior living community.
In honor of her hundredth birthday, staff at The Crossings gathered nearly 400 cards, at least one from each state and several from at least six different countries.
"I started it on my Facebook page," said Michelle Deboer, who works at The Crossings, "It had been shared of 2000 times … it took 129 days to gather all 50 states."
Several family members, residents, and staff attested to Mark's good nature; a kindness she said has lifelong roots from unexpected teachers.
“They would sit there all day in the sunshine … people would call them bums … because my parents were teaching all day, they would help me with my homework," said Mark, "when we walk around Billings and see people like that – we have no idea what their stories are, but they’re as wonderful as ours are.”
Staff members like Michellege Deboer, who has known Mark her entire life, said they believe people tend to rally behind incredible people like Mark.
“I don’t want to be like self-sacrificing and overly modest, but I’m overwhelmed. It’s more than I ever expected," said Mark, "It’ll never come again. So, I have to cherish each moment of today, including this interview.”
