Going strong at 101

Maryann Kratzke turned 101 years old Jan. 10. Born that day in 1919 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, she has lived in Las Cruces since 1983, said her daughter, Cindy Kratzke, also of Las Cruces, who joined in her mother’s celebration along with her sister, Susan Breidenbach and her husband, Fred Breidenbach, of Monterey, California and Bend, Oregon; and brother, Ted Kratzke of Charlotte, North Carolina. Maryann and her late husband, Ted, came to Las Cruces because they wanted to live in a university town, Cindy Kratzke said. Her parents supported NMSU sports. Maryann also was a pink lady volunteer at Memorial Medical Center for 20 years. Cindy said her mother’s advice to others is, “Keep moving, life is short.”