Enjoying life at 90: Hairdresser, Church Ministry, RV Traveler and More
Nettleton, MS
The weather outside Mary Magers’ beauty shop on a recent Friday morning in Nettleton was cold, wet and windy. The scenery inside the shop, however, was much brighter.
“OK, I’m through with you,” Magers said, turning McDuffie in the stylist chair to face the mirror.
“Let me look at it. It looks good,” McDuffie said. “Now, if it would just stay that way.” The friends then smiled and laughed together.
Magers, who’s also 90, enjoys feeling upbeat and making people around her feel happy and special.
“I’m always saying crazy things. I just enjoy living,” she said. “When I tell people I’m 90, they say I don’t look it. Age is mostly just in your head. You can make out your age anything you want. It’s just figures. If you have the Lord with you, you’re as spry as a kid.”
BUSY LIFE
Magers, a native of the Ratliff community near the Lee-Itawamba county line, has been a beautician since her early 20s. She and her late husband, who was a Baptist pastor, lived in various places in the area before settling in Nettleton.
“We didn’t move around a lot, just stayed at places a long time,” she said of her husband, who died in an accident 13 years ago. “He loved people like I do.”
Magers Beauty Salon, opened in 1972, was built on to the Magerses’ home on Buchanan Avenue. She has scaled back her salon hours to Friday and Saturday mornings, but it doesn’t mean her schedule has slowed.
She likes to visit, and she spends the early part of her week seeing people on behalf of First Baptist Church in Nettleton.
“It takes time to take care of my church family,” she said. “I deliver DVDs of the Sunday morning and evening services to shut-ins, people who can’t make it to church. I try to take them about the same time every week. They expect them.”
When Sunday morning comes, Magers is at First Baptist. She teaches a Sunday School class made of up anyone who wants to attend. “It’s mixed. Men and women. Anyone I can get,” she said.
Magers likes to spread her joy to everyone, especially young adults.
“I do a lot of visiting for the church, especially younger couples. That’s my heart. I’ve had them in the past,” she said.
“I guess the church thought I had grown up enough that I needed to be with seniors,” she added with a laugh. “But, I still feel like I fit in with the younger ones.”
When she’s not going for church reasons, Magers likes to travel in her RV. She said one of her sons, Thomas, has been concerned about her going during her elderly years.
“He doesn’t want me to go as far as Amory without calling, telling him where I am,” she said. “I’ve always drove my camper. We’ve been camping in Fulton. (Thomas and his wife) decided they might ought to take me where I wanted to go.”
Magers paused and smiled. “I’d rather take myself,” she said, “but I try to be a good little girl for them.”
GIVING BACK
Magers shows her gratitutde for her long life through her visits and her shop. She often styles and cuts hair without charging the customer.
“I ask the Lord to bless me so I can bless someone else,” she said. “I promised Him I would give away a part of this every week.”
She’s often asked to style the hair of a deceased person. “I love fixing hair that someone has passed away,” she said. “As I fix their hair, I say this is the last time I can do for you.”
Magers believes a person shouldn’t be defined by the number of years they live.
“Numbers are not what make you happy,” she said. “When you have God on your side, you will look young and happy.”
As long as she’s feeling chipper and laughing with her customers, Magers will continue to style hair until they’re gone.
“I’ll retire after they all die,” she said, smiling.
bobby.pepper@journalinc.com
Twitter: @bobbypepper30
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