Morgan Hill’s supercentenarian Belle McCormick passed away March 1 at the age of 110, according to the retired educator’s daughter Annie Saso.
“Her birthday was May 2 and she would’ve been 111,” Saso said.
McCormick is survived by her daughters, Saso and Margaret Escover, as well as her nine grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.
A rosary is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 9 at Lima-Campagna-Johnson Funeral Home (17720 Monterey Street) with a mass at 10 a.m. March 10 at St. Catherine’s Parish (17400 Peak Ave.).
While Saso said she learned many things from her mother over the years, the one that sticks most is having a warm glass of water with a lemon every morning to nurture good health.
“It’s hard to put it into words,” said Saso of what her mother meant to her, the extended family and Morgan Hill community.
After beginning a 36-year teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse in rural Montana, McCormick started substitute teaching locally at the Machado School while also earning her teaching degree from San Jose State University in the 1950s.
McCormick, who also taught at the old Burnett School among others in town, was an active member of St. Catherine’s and a proud member of the Delta Kappa Gamma international society for key women educators.
The avid bridge player was also active in the local community with participation in the American Association of University Women, Children’s Home Society, Cancer Thrift Shop, Friends of the Morgan Hill Library, Flower Lovers Club, Women In Touch.
“She absolutely adored the outdoors. She loved nature and flowers,” Saso recalled. “If anything she taught me, there’s a right way and wrong way to do everything. That was from setting the table to ironing a shirt to cleaning the house.”
