You have to be a pretty important person for Santa Claus to come to your birthday party.

Mary Sharer is, and a special one, too. She is turning 101 years old on Dec. 20, and her friends, family, Santa Claus and an elf celebrated her birthday on Saturday at St. Peter’s Methodist Church in Saylorsburg.

“I wish her a happy birthday and many more,” said Santa Claus, also known as John Schwartz. “She has her memory and is sharp as a tack.”

“I had one last year,” Sharer said about the birthday party. She did indeed. Her daughter, Joan Ressman, also threw a party for her 100th birthday at the church.

“People are so kind to me,” Sharer said. “And my daughter decorated this so beautiful.”

The party was decorated with a Happy Birthday banner, silver balloons, Christmas decorations and pictures of Mary throughout her life. Sharer and her guests enjoyed a buffet lunch, cake and time catching up.

“Everybody’s been coming up,” Sharer said. She was seated at a head table where people could come, sit with her, and visit for a while. Sharer said it was good to see the people again.

“A few of them, I haven’t seen in a long time,” she said.

When asked what her secret is to a long life, Sharer said, “Who knows. At this age, I just take one day at a time.”

Sharer’s daughter, Joan, said she invited everyone she knew who knew her mom.

“She never knew a stranger,” Ressman said. “My mom belonged to every club in the world.”

Sharer was a very active person her whole life, first working in an office at Bethlehem Steel, then raising a family, working in the Hamilton Township Elementary School cafeteria, waitressing, volunteering at church and then with the Monroe County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. She also volunteered for the Pocono Area Transitional Housing before being offered a job. In all, Sharer worked up to the age of 95, Ressman said, and only quit because of the pandemic.

“She was an adventurer,” Ressman said.

Sharer’s great-niece Joy Grunwald said hearing about her great-aunt’s impact in the community and as a volunteer with the Monroe County RSVP and her work with PATH inspired her.

“She was definitely a positive influence on us in the younger generation,” Grunwald said. Her grandmother and Sharer were sisters.

Grunwald said she has fond memories of Sharer from her childhood and said that she has a giving spirit.

“Aunt Mary was always the happy sister,” Grunwald said, and added that her grandmother could be grumpy.

“Aunt Mary always brought the fun,” she said.

Ruth Spece knows Sharer from church at St. Peter’s. She used to sit with her during the services.

“That is how we became friends,” Spece said. “And I wish her all the best.”

Church members and friends Dianne Hatcher and Holly Cameron were happy to help in the kitchen for the birthday party.

“Mary’s a fixture here and she’s loved by everybody,” Hatcher said. “She was a Sunday school teacher here.”

Cameron said she and Sharer used to dress up as elves when they waitressed together. She thinks Sharer’s caring nature has something to do with her secret to a long life. In addition to caring for her children and the community, Sharer also took care of her husband for 10 years before his death from Parkinson’s disease.

“She has a caring nature. Longevity comes from taking care of people,” Cameron said.

If anyone would like to send Mary Sharer a birthday or Christmas card, please send it to her at P.O. Box 278, Saylorsburg, PA 18353.