Grace Caroline Bankard recently celebrated her 103rd birthday. She was born April 28, 1901, one of four children to Charles and Wilhelmia (Schuhknect) Sash on a farm near Trenton, Mich.
She was confirmed on March 28, 1915, by Pastor Knoll in Trinity Lutheran Church, Wyondotte, Mich., the same church in which she was later married. She still has the certificate and remembers the specific short passage from the Scriptures given her at confirmation, designed to guide the individual Christian through her entire life.
After her graduation from Trenton High School, she attended the Business Institute in Trenton and studied accounting. Later she was a bookkeeper for several automobile dealerships in the Trenton area.
She returned to her church of confirmation to marry Charles R. Bankard on Aug. 27, 1938. For a while after their marriage they lived with her parents, but before long her father built a home for the newlyweds. They lived in that home until shortly before their move to Florida in 1967. They had no children. Mr. Bankard died Feb. 6, 1981.
She was a charter member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Trenton, Christ the King Lutheran Church in Largo, and the R&R Group, a local club for retirees.
She always enjoyed gardening, needlepoint, embroidery and crochet; failing eyesight now prohibits that kind of close work. She is an avid card player, especially bridge, pinochle and canasta.
- We think that living 100 years is worth our taking notice. If you or a family member is about to celebrate a 100th birthday or more, please let us know. Include the following information: the person's full name, date of birth, place of birth, parents' names (including mother's maiden name) if known, name of spouse (if applicable), marriage date, names of children and number of grandchildren (if applicable), length of time the person has lived in this area and a phone number in case we have questions. Also, please include a photo that doesn't need to be returned. We'll publish the information as close to the birthday as possible. Send the information to 100-year Birthdays, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731-1121 or fax to (727) 893-8675.
