FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia woman is celebrating 100 years of making history and her milestone birthday.
Ellen Maxine Pritchard is ringing in the centennial celebration on May 3. She was born in Matoaka, West Virginia in 1923 and is one of 10 children.
Her father, Harley Dishon, worked as a coal miner to support the family but was badly hurt in a mine collapse. The Great Depression influenced his decision to relocate to Baltimore where he found work building ships at the Bethlehem Ship Yard. The rest set the stage for Pritchard's life.
In her adult years, Pritchard answered an ad for the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors Corporation. The company was recruiting women to build the aircraft for WWII -- and Pritchard would become one of them.
She worked at setting up supplies and materials needed to complete the tasks. After the war, she continued to work at the Holabird Army Base in Maryland where she met her husband.
She and Everett Scott Pritchard married on February 19, 1949. Everett served in the First Special Services Force, Company G, the 474th Infantry Regiment with the U.S. Army. Everett's unit was dubbed the Devil's Brigade by the Germans, which inspired the film "The Devil's Brigade."
Together, they started a family. The Pritchards had four children. Over the years the family has blossomed to include eight grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
Apart from being a mom, she also earned her master's degree and was a high school economics teacher for most of her life.
Eventually, she became a Cumming, Georgia resident, and left her mark on the Peach State too.
During her two decades living in Forsyth County, Pritchard answered an ad in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to help inmates at Phillips State Prison in Buford. She assisted with their transition helping them learn life skills. She also started the GED program and a library in the four years she volunteered there. She took her experience to the Forsyth County Jail and also tutored detainees for the GED for four years.
Her family describes her as a woman of faith and someone who shows God's love to everyone she meets.
They plan to host a big 100th birthday bash on May 13 in Forsyth County to celebrate her life.
