Every morning for as long as anyone can remember, retired educator and longtime Morgan Hill resident Belle McCormick starts her day with a warm glass of water and lemon.
Whether the daily ritual is the secret to her longevity is a bit uncertain—although family members might say otherwise—McCormick, who turned 109 years young May 2, is living proof. (She also enjoyed a daily nightcap of a shot of brandy, according to family.)
“I’ve had a wonderful life,” said the centenarian as she sat around the table Saturday with four generations of family members in the backyard of her West Edmundson Avenue country house—one she’s called home since moving from Montana in 1952.
The second youngest and last surviving of four siblings, McCormick, along with her late husband Bill McCormick, a rancher and cowboy by trade, raised three daughters in Morgan Hill—Margaret, Annie and Mary Ellen. The family tree has since branched out to include nine grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren.
“I raised this family,” said McCormick, who is known as “Nana” by the brood she so cherishes. “We all get along so beautifully. We all have so much fun together.”
On this particular sunny afternoon, McCormick’s daughter, Margaret “Maggie” Escover, 73, who lives a short drive away in Gilroy, planned the small gathering at her childhood home to celebrate her mom’s special day. Her 109th birthday comes about one week before Mother’s Day, which didn’t even become an official American holiday until 1908, two years after Belle was born. Family members ate birthday cake and shared stories of time spent with Nana over the years, stopping frequently to ask McCormick if she remembered as well.
“Her life was devoted to us. We never knew we weren’t the most important people in her life. She would do anything for us,” said Escover of her mother who was the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year in 1987. “She worked so hard. She could do anything. She could do it all.”
McCormick’s younger daughter, Annie Saso, 72, of Morgan Hill, added: “She taught us there’s a right and wrong way to do everything, including riding horseback, fishing, setting the table, ironing a shirt and cleaning the house.”
An educator, seamstress, outdoor adventurer, fashionista, horse lover, mentor and a beloved mother to this very day, McCormick took on many roles in her enriched and extended life, almost all of her adult years spent at the same house in west Morgan Hill.
“She’s been here forever. She is part of our history,” Mayor Steve Tate said of McCormick. “She’s just a treasure to have as part of our community.”
Dennis Kennedy, a former mayor and current director on the Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors, said he knows the family well and even attended McCormick’s 100th birthday party—some nine years ago—held at the Community and Cultural Center.
“She’s an amazing lady,” Kennedy said. “She was highly respected and regarded in the education community. I think she’s outlived most of her students.”
The praise came as no surprise to grandson Tim Escover, who recalled day trips to Monterey and surprise visits while living in San Jose from his grandmother (known to never turn down a friendly street race in her Oldsmobile). He also remembered picking walnuts and feeding the chickens at the west Morgan Hill property, as well as the extravagant family dinners on holidays like Christmas Eve with the dining room table decked out in fine china.
“She loved to cater to the family,” said Tim, sitting with his two children (Belle’s great grandchildren), Joshua and Jessica. “It’s just extremely incredible how independently strong she’s been. She still appreciates life and the outdoors.”
Jessica Escover, 17, who attends Oakwood School, enjoys hearing McCormick talk of the old days more than anything. “It’s fun. I like hearing all the stories she tells us when dad and his siblings were kids,” Jessica shared.
“Life is what you make it,” said McCormick with everyone all ears at the family gathering.
And her life has been nothing less than extraordinary.
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.
“She somehow in some way touched a lot of people’s lives here in Morgan Hill,” Margaret Escover said. “She never lost patience or got angry with anyone. She’d just sit down and talk to you about whatever the problem was.”
Lana Wright, owner of Lana’s Dance Studio, fondly recalls having McCormick as her fifth grade teacher at the old San Martin Elementary School.
“She was warm and loving, and I think she treated us just like she would treat her own kids,” said Wright, who stopped by for McCormick’s 109th party. I just remember her as being one of my favorite all-time teachers.”
McCormick, who also taught at the old Burnett School among others in town, was an active member of St. Catherine Church and a proud member of the Delta Kappa Gamma international society for key women educators.
“I have a lot of friends,” said McCormick, whose positivity undoubtedly attracted many of them.
One DKG sorority sister, Cindy Miller, also a retired teacher and now a local Realtor, met McCormick in the early 1980s. At that time, McCormick was already retired from the teaching profession.
“She was a leader in that organization at a local level. She is someone who would take everyone under her wing,” said Miller, who shares the same birthday as her dear friend. “She was such a role model to so many different people.”
And that includes her own children.
“She used to be Mrs. Morgan Hill,” Margaret Escover said. “She’d do anything for Morgan Hill.”
While Escover—married 53 years to husband Jack—said one of her most treasured memories will always be how her mother made her wedding dress, Saso recalled how special Easter mornings were with McCormick and her “goldenrod egg” breakfasts.
“Not too long ago, I was visiting a friend with her and she asked my mom, ‘How old are you?’ My mom said, ‘I really can’t remember like I used to,” Saso explained. “I told her you’re 108—and she said, ‘no wonder I can’t remember.’”
