102 years of adventures: Katherine Didas celebrates milestone birthday

STURGIS — Echoing song lyrics by Frank Sinatra, Katherine Didas said she has done life her way.

The Sturgis resident turned 102 Sunday, celebrating with family, dinner and dessert. On Friday, she reflected on "a good life" and memories full of adventures.

Didas was born Feb. 12, 1921, in the Kalamazoo County village of Augusta, to Oral and Bessie Huber. The fourth of six children, Didas attended school in nearby Climax, graduating from Climax-Scotts High School.

Growing up during part of the Great Depression, Didas walked 2.5 miles to school with her sisters. In class, she favored English and Latin.

"If you took Latin, you understood a lot of the world languages," she said.

While childhood adventures were limited but cherished nonetheless, Didas spent summers swimming in the Kalamazoo River, and remembered the first movie she saw: "Along Came Youth," a 1930 comedy.

"They had free movies in the park in Climax on Thursday nights," Didas said. "We would go to the movies, and if you didn't have a ride, someone gave you one."

While her father had a crank-start Model T Ford, Didas eventually acquired a later model Model T with a push-button starter. Having Henry Ford as an employer in those times was a blessing, she said.

"There were always good things about Ford," she said. "At Christmas time, you got a $25 check and (paid) time-and-a-half. He took care of everyone."

After graduating from high school, Didas went to nursing school at Bronson Hospital. She married and had four children — three girls and a boy — with her first husband, Leland Bland. Life and work over the years took her to California, Yuma, Arizona, and Portage. She has lived the past five years in Sturgis to be closer to her son, Gary Bland, whom she calls her "rock" of love and support.

While Didas had many jobs throughout her life, one of her most memorable was working for Hughes Aircraft Co. in California, where her second husband, Lowell Didas, built helicopters.

Because of her small stature, Didas was a helicopter inspector at the manufacturer of aircraft and bombers, during the 1960s.

"I could get in and inspect areas where others couldn't get in," Didas said.

Didas remembered Howard Hughes as a man who lived up to his persona, a successful businessman with a personality peppered with oddities.

"He had a white Cadillac convertible and he would drive up to the front entrance and leave the top down," Didas said of one instance that came to mind. "He left (actress) Rosalind Russell out in the car under the hot sun. Lowell and other workers would bring her water until he (Hughes) came back out."

Didas said Hughes was also known for coming around the plant wearing disguises, an effort to avoid recognition.

"But you always knew it was him," Gary confirmed with his mother during the interview.

"Oh, yes," Didas said.

While in California, Didas once found herself in the presence of Ronald Reagan while he was governor of California, another moment in life in between travels to England, France and other destinations.

"The trains were the best (overseas)," she said. "They were fast, 70 mph, and they had the best food."

Didas seldom shied away from a turn with the dice at any craps table she encountered, a game she said she enjoyed.

Didas retired from Hughes and moved to Yuma, Arizona, which she said was her favorite place by far to live. After 12 years there, she came back to Michigan, where she and Lowell resided in Portage.

Overall, Didas said, she has enjoyed a full life full of opportunities and adventure. She has seen great changes in technology, advances in the workplace, and has done so under 19 presidential administrations, from Woodrow Wilson to Joe Biden.

"I've made a few mistakes, but I've lived to tell about it," she said with a smile. "It's been a good life, and I did it my way."

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: 102 years of adventures: Katherine Didas celebrates milestone birthday