Alyce Supina of Sumpter township marks 100 years

Alyce Jane Supina of Sumpter Township celebrated her birthday with 17 family and friends on Aug. 2, the day before her 100th birthday.
She was born Aug. 3, 1915 in Milan and has been a Sumpter resident since 1946, living in the same house on Sumpter Road all that time.
Her husband Michael Supina died at age 99 on June 15, 2013, just before his 100th birthday in August.
The couple had two children. Michael, Jr. died at age 17 in 1971, drowning in a local gravel pit. Mr. Supina, who had worked at Ford Motor Company for 36 years, retired from Ford the day their son died.
Their daughter Patricia Hamrick died in 2010 and her husband Buddy Hamrick has taken over the role of caretaker for his mother-in-law.
Alyce and Michael enjoyed farming their 20-30 acres of strawberries in Sumpter, along with other farming and family gardens.
She attributes their long lives to good country living.
Buddy said his mother-in-law is “pretty independent,” still taking care of herself and doing her own cooking. A few days before her 100th birthday, Alyce wasn’t feeling well, so Buddy took her to a hospital emergency room. But she refused to be admitted to the hospital to be treated for a low pulse. She felt much better after she returned home, he reported.
Alyce’s brother John Mangus, 89, drove up from Columbus, Ohio, for his sister’s birthday party.
Alyce’s granddaughter is Patricia Polderdyke of Southfield. Great-grandsons are Brett Smith of Garden City and Jacob Smith of Wayne. Great-great-granddaughter is Addalynn Smith of Garden City, who turned one year old just before Alyce’s 100th birthday.