The Gatesworth resident Mary Ellen French remembers the conversation like it was yesterday. The year was 1945. Her husband Jim had just returned from five long years at war and the two were newlyweds. “You know, you can buy a hamburger in Maine or Southern California,” Jim told her. “Let’s get out and do some traveling—and let’s see America last.”
With that simple declaration, the Frenches traveled the world. “We traveled to see other cultures, to see how other people lived,” the 93½-year-old says. “We wanted to understand people. When we saw the news, we wanted to understand why things were happening.”
Seventy years later, French has not slowed down much. She spent the past winter in Australia with her son. However, she enjoys the comforts of home each time she returns to The Gatesworth. She uses its limo service for shopping and short trips out. And when she suffered a fall and broke a vertebra, she used the Personal Care option, which provided 24-hour assistance in her apartment. “What is there not to like?” says French, who moved to the residential community for seniors 18 months ago to be closer to her daughter in St. Louis. “They do everything in the world for you, and they really are the nicest p
eople.”
French has a broad base for comparison. She has been to every corner of the world—some of them three or four times. “We didn’t travel for comfort,” she says. “It was two- or four-engine planes early on. We would land, rent a car and take off.”
By the time Jim retired from banking at age 57, the two were traveling three or four times a year. “My favorite place in the world is India,” she says. “Everything you have read about India in books, or seen in movies or on TV, is completely true. It’s the most amazing place I have ever been.” She and her husband also were on the first Pan American flight to China after President Nixon opened travel between the two countries. She says the Nazca Lines (pre-Colombian geoglyphs in the sand) in Ica, Peru, are truly remarkable. And she is glad she traveled to Ephesus, Turkey, where it is believed the Virgin Mary once lived. “I got to go before they started fixing it up, before it became a tourist trap,” French says.
Even today it is hard for her to put into words some of the beauty she has seen. “We were on a cruise to Antarctica a long time ago,” she says. “When they said we were going to be sighting Antarctica, everyone ran onto the deck. Not one word was spoken. No one said anything, because you know instantly when you see it, there is nothing between you and God. It’s a truly spiritual event.”
Her husband, who passed away 11 years ago, left behind bags filled with photos of the beauty they saw. Mary Ellen wrote in journals on each trip, and they are neatly boxed away in case her children or grandchildren want to read them someday. She doesn’t need to read them. The memories are still etched clearly in her mind. “It’s a wonderful world if you can get out and see how people truly live,” she says. “We saw incredible things.”
Pictured: Mary Ellen French
Photo: TOKY Branding + Design
The Gatesworth, a residential community for seniors located at One McKnight Place, is known for outstanding service and enrichment activities. Pictured on the cover: Mary Ellen French. For more information, call 314.993.0111 or visit thegatesworth.com.
Cover design by Allie Bronsky | Cover photo by TOKY Branding + Design
