- Marion Bach was the very first resident to move into Notre Dame Housing. She moved in 26 years ago and earlier this month she celebrated her 100th birthday.
- Family from all over, came to celebrate.
- The video show Marion at Notre Dame Housing and photos with her family during the celebration.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"I lived three years in Hawaii, but I still would rather have Nebraska," said Marion Bach
An inspiring journey of the last century that Marion Bach recounts as she celebrates 100 years.
She was born in New Zealand and years later met the man who would become her husband.
"Chief petty officer Edward Bach,” Marion shared. "I met him in 1943. Married him in 1944, had a daughter in 1945 and came to the United States in 1946."
Her husband was in the Navy which took her all over the U.S including California, Hawaii, Virginia and more.
But the place she loves the most is Nebraska.
"I love it because it is in the middle of the wide-open space, you can be out in the country in just few minutes," Bach said.
And she's a pretty big Husker football fan too.
"I can't miss a football game, no matter how good they are or how bad they are, I am their fan forever," Bach said.
She spent many years in Benson before moving into a new home as the very first resident of Notre Dame Housing.
"When the building was built and it was ready to move in, I got to see the apartments, they were so brand new and I picked the one I wanted," Bach said.
And in Marion’s words it's not an apartment. It's a home. Her home for the last 26 years.
"You accumulate a lot but it's comfortable, it's cozy and it looks live in," Bach said.
Just as it should be – and beyond her memories here, most of her stories of the last 100 years, revolve around one thing – family.
Many of them came to Omaha to celebrate with her.
"I just want to visit with them because I love them so much," Bach said.
Marion has 3 daughters. 7 grandchildren. 19 great grandchildren and 26 great great grandchildren.
Justin Camacho is one of those 19 great grandchildren who came to Omaha from Hawaii to celebrate.
"We are all here because of her, and it's crazy because there are so many different walks, from Hawaii to the mainland to New Zealand and yeah it's special that it trickles down from her," Camacho said.
That celebration included the thing she does almost daily.
"What happens at 4 o'clock?” Molly asked. "At four o'clock, I have a beer," Bach said.
And of course, a party, dressed in her Husker gear with the people she loves in the place she calls home.
"If I could live to be another 100 years, I’d want to be right here," Bach said.
