This 110-year-old 'prayer mother' is known for her wit, wisdom

CRANFORD -- When Mamie Tarver has something to say, she sings. Or she references her Methodist faith. Occasionally, she says words that make her grandchildren blush.

"She's remained as spunky as ever," her granddaughter, Tiffany Basma, said as she visited Tarver on a recent Wednesday. "It goes from quoting Bible verses to needing a censor."

A longtime Cranford resident, Tarver is known at her nursing home for her gentle nature and bright spirit. She calls herself a "prayer mother," and residents at Cranford Health and Extended Care Center seek her out and ask her to pray for them, her son-in-law, Norman Morse, said.

"Pray, pray, ever on the line. You can run, but you can't hide!" Tarver sang as her granddaughter fussed with her hair.

It's just rambling, Morse said, but at 110 years old, Tarver's family is just grateful she still has her signature moxie and heart.

In 1907, Dole Food Company moved a pineapple cannery to Honolulu. The Cubs won the World Series. Oklahoma became the 46th state admitted to the Union. And Mamie Tarver was born to a white mother and an African-American father in Alabama.

She had a difficult childhood, Basma said. She had to drop out of school after the third grade to help support her family, and she got a job cleaning a butcher shop so she could take home the scraps.

Tarver moved north to Newark and lived there for a few years before she came to Cranford as a teenager, Morse said. Families used to hire her to host parties, and she did day labor helping her neighbors. She traveled to work without ever learning to drive a car.

Through the years, Tarver mentored her descendants at Sunday night barbecues at her Johnson Avenue home. She had distinct views on what it meant to be a lady.

Tarver taught Basma how to cook and advised her to wear slips under her dresses and go to finishing school. Joules Litus, a nurse at Tarver's extended care center, said Tarver tells her what to do to keep a man.

She was married to Peter Tarver, who passed away when he was 82. But Morse said the people his mother has lost are never really gone to her.

"She still talks about people like it's the present," he said. "She talks about her sisters like she hasn't talked to them in awhile."

Although Tarver now gets daily help at her extended care center, she remains in good health for a woman her age. She doesn't take medication or need glasses, and she could still walk if she had to, Morse said.

She recognizes people by face, if not by name. She sewed clothing, like a light blue floral apron, until she was almost 100 years old. She's the oldest resident at the nursing home.

Each April since 2007, dozens of Tarver's relatives have celebrated her birthday at the extended care center. As time passes, her family has grown accustomed to expecting another party, year after year.

"When she turned 100, it was a milestone, and then she kept living," Basma said. "When she turned 102, it was like, 'Okay, same place next year!'"

They plan to be back next spring to celebrate a woman whose enthusiasm and wit have kept them laughing for 111 years.

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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