Marie Anna Schroff Schmidt has seen many hardships in her 100 years. Yet, her advice to her two grandchildren is warm and hopeful:

"If I could impart some lessons to my grandchildren, it would be to stress the importance of understanding, tolerance and compassion," she said in a 1985 article for the South Hills Health System.

She was born on July 9, 1909, in Wallhausen, Germany, to Joseph and Anna Schroff. Her father died when she was an infant and her mother when she was 5. Her stepfather was not able to care for her so she went to live with an aunt.

When she was 16, she immigrated to the United States with the encouragement of a relative in Pittsburgh's Allentown neighborhood. But when she arrived at Ellis Island in New York, no one was there to greet her. Due to a miscommunication with the relative, she ended up stranded there for two weeks, knowing no English.

She found work here as a seamstress and eventually saved enough money to go back to Germany to visit her half-brother, Carl. The two of them attended the passion play in Oberammergau. He later died fighting for Germany in World War II.

On May 29, 1935, she married Andrew Schmidt of Mount Washington, who pitched briefly for the Pittsburgh Pirates and worked as a graphic designer. They had two sons, Robert of Millvale and John (deceased) of Mt. Lebanon. The couple had a 50-year "marriage made in heaven," she says. Mr. Schmidt died in 1985.

Mrs. Schmidt now lives in a personal care home in Sharpsburg. She attributes her longevity to a healthy lifestyle and her interest in wellness and good nutrition.