Last living founding member of Decatur Civic Chorus honored at 106

Mary Lee Sharp’s fingers aren’t quite as limber as they once were. She moves slowly with the aid of a walker and wears hearing aids.

But at 106, she’s still cooking her own meals, enjoying card games with friends and playing the piano -- an art she has pursued since she was 4 years old.

Sharp also keeps up with the activities of the Decatur Civic Chorus. She was a founding member of the musical organization back in 1948, and served as the group’s accompanist for 11 years. Her daughter, Mary Anne, took over as the chorus director in 1963, and she still picks up her mother and takes her to the weekly rehearsals.

Recently the chorus honored Sharp as its last living charter member.

Her dedication to the group, as well as her years of service as music director or organist for five Decatur churches, earned her the Mary Clark Community Arts award. Named for the chorus’ founder, the award is presented each year to a person in the organization who has offered outstanding service to the chorus and the community.

"I don't deserve it," she said with a smile and shake of her head.

Sharp’s love of music goes back to her childhood in Knoxville, where she first exhibited musical talent by picking out the wedding march on a piano after having heard it just once. She studied for years with private teachers before marrying and having three children.

She moved to Decatur in 1937 and became friends with the small group of women who joined forces to create the chorus. The members were unpaid and the costs of the concerts were covered by donations, as they are today. A portion of the proceeds benefits community causes.

“We had a group of people who wanted to sing and do something besides teach music,” Sharp said. “They were people who wanted to communicate with the community and spread the love of good music.”

Sharp moved to Florida in 1961 when her husband was transferred, but after his death in 1982 she returned to Decatur and began attending weekly rehearsals as an observer.

“She doesn’t say anything while we’re there, but she still offers her opinion to me later,” said Mary Anne Sharp with a laugh.

Sharp has also traveled with the chorus on tours as an assistant accompanist. Her last trip several years ago was to Ireland and Scotland, where she recalled with a grin enjoying the local whiskeys.

No one is more surprised than Sharp is that she has made it to 106, and she has no secret to longevity.

“I really don’t know,” she said. “My mother was 92, and I had family members who lived into their 90s. It must be God’s will.”

At the senior complex where she lives, Sharp keeps busy with friends. She often sits down to play the piano -- the one she donated to the facility when she moved in.

“I love to play cards, games, bingo, and games on my computer,” she said. “I still cook my own dinner, mostly chicken, fish and vegetables. And I love to get e-mail.”

Mary Anne Sharp marvels at her mother’s stamina.