Born To Volunteer: Mary Burns-Haley

The first thing you notice about Mary Burns-Haley is her smile.  She smiles big and she smiles often, exuding a zest for life that would rival most teenagers. Yet, Mary Burns-Haley is 92-years-young.   

Haley was born in Pennsylvania and inherited her longevity from her father. 

“That’s a funny story,” she says.

According to Haley, her father worked for a time in a garage. When he became ill, his doctor told him the car fumes had damaged his heart. He had only a short time to live. 

“My dad decided to live out his remaining days where it was warm and so moved our family to Florida,” she says.

Haley smiles at the memory; not because her father succumbed to his illness, but because he lived to be 101 — a good sign for Haley.

Haley’s family eventually moved to the Northwest, allowing her to grow up in Snohomish. As a young woman, she trained to become a nurse at Providence Hospital in Everett and then went to work at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. Haley married, had two children and then began to volunteer when her sons were old enough to join 4H and Cub Scouts. Haley helped with it all, including a stint as chair of the PTA Council.

During that time, Haley convinced Judge Paul Houser to lead a session on juvenile delinquency as part of  a workshop sponsored by the PTA.  He later referred her to Judge Alva Long, who was in the process of establishing a committee in Renton to evaluate and recommend discipline for juvenile delinquents. Haley's prodding earned her 11 years on the committee.  

After Haley divorced her first husband, she went back to nursing and finally retired at age 65. By June of that year, she was bored to tears.

“I needed people — human contact,” she says.  “So I went down to the Senior Center to see what was going on.”

Haley had never been to the Renton Senior Activity Center before, but walked into a class where she didn’t know a soul and boldly asked, “Is this a party.  Am I invited?”

It wasn’t long before Haley was volunteering there, and today serves as receptionist once a week at the front desk. 

“For over 30 years, Mary has taken great pride in making the Renton Senior Activity Center an outstanding facility for senior citizens,” says Shawn Daly, Director.

With her outgoing personality, Haley was also a natural member of Valley Community Players.  She helped out in the ticket office and enjoyed being on stage, taking small parts in productions such as Oliver. 

One of Haley’s favorite volunteer activities, however, is the work she does with AARP (American Association of Retired Persons). The local AARP chapter helps to educate local seniors on politics and services important to them. Initially, Haley volunteered to serve as Secretary of the Board, but has also written and produced their newsletter and maintains an extensive chapter scrapbook. Her friend (and President of AARP) recruited her to Renton’s Senior Advisory Committee, which she's been involved with for nearly 30 years.

“I think I was born to volunteer,” Haley says boldly.  “I enjoy the fellowship with others and it’s given me a feeling of being needed in a meaningful way.”

Today, Haley lives alone at Leisure Estates, an attractive mobile home park in the Renton Highlands where she sings in the Leisure Estates Chorale and donates refreshments for meetings. There are 1,603 manufactured homes in the United States, and Haley has been very active on the legislative action team for Manufactured-Mobile Home Owners of America with her friend and neighbor, Judith White.

“Mary is a pistol,” says White.  “She is a little, tiny person with a big heart.  She volunteers for everything.”

At 92, Mary is finally beginning to slow down, but says, “I volunteer because if I stayed home, I’d have to dust.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The age of a woman doesn't mean a thing. The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.”

I suspect he was referring to Mary Burns-Haley whose tune is pitch-perfect.