Millie Bailey has seen many milestones in her life. She's seen wars start, wars end, presidents come and go, but one milestone she's had is her favorite: she just turned 100 this year.
Bailey, who grew up in the Deep South, joined the Army during World War II and ended up the Commander of a women’s unit.
Currently living in Columbia, Howard county, Bailey said in a recent interview: “I haven’t had a paying job since 1975, but my young friends say I shouldn’t say I’m retired, just say I work without pay.”
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According to Fox News she has volunteered in different capacities during the past few decades. She has worked with children in Howard County Schools. Bailey has also packed care packages for soldiers overseas. She has been on advisory boards from police to education. Recounting the impact segregation and discrimination had on her life, Mailey said she hoped the next generations are better human beings.
Also, thanks to the Community Foundation of Howard County, they named a fund the Millie Bailey Fund, established by Mary and Earl Armiger in honor of Bailey. The fund is a permanent fund whose proceeds will directly benefit Running Brook, a Title I school with a large population of minority and low income students.
If These Walls Could Talk | Stories Of Service | Vivian "Millie" Bailey from MISSION BBQ on Vimeo.
Her dream is for true equality. She said: “I would like for everybody to see what they can do to help somebody else, like when you go to buy groceries, buy some extra cans and bring it to the food bank. Yes, live every day thinking ‘what can I do to make it a better world.'”
With that same attitude and the health of seniors getting better, it looks like we may see more people living life like Millie.
Death rates have been dropping for Americans of almost every age for decades now. A study of centenarians, Americans 100 years and older, suggests that they are joining the ranks, as their death rates started to decline in 2008.
Using data from the United States Census Bureau and death certificates filed in the United States, a study by...
... the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined the death rate and causes of death in this oldest-of-the-old population between 2000 and 2014.
The study reported that, although Americans in their very golden years are still rare, the population has grown by 44% in recent years, from 50,281 in 2000 to 72,197 in 2014.
"It looks like the population 100 and older is living longer now so the [death] rate has decreased, but I don't know exactly what caused that," said Dr. Jiaquan Xu, an epidemiologist at the CDC National Center for Health Statistics and author of the study, which was released in January.
