Twin sisters celebrate their 100th birthday
By Terry Guerra
On Saturday, August 22, there was a special party in the afternoon for two special sisters. Mary Alice Haley and Mary Jean Holtzhauer, identical twins who turned 100 the day before, were celebrated by family and friends at StoryPoint Senior Living in Tipp City. Children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren came from all over the country to spend the day reminiscing and catching up with one another. Some of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren were meeting Mary Alice and Mary Jean for the first time.
Mary Alice Niekamp and Mary Jean Niekamp were born and raised in Chickasaw, Ohio. Mary Alice married James Haley, of Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1950, and they moved to Dayton to raise their family. They had three children, and the family has grown with 11 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 2013.
A member (and a former volunteer) at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church since 1972, Mary Alice is also a member of the Tipp City American Legion Women’s Auxiliary. She worked for Leiss Laundry & Dry Cleaning. She and her husband also volunteered at Needy Basket of Southern Miami County.
Mary Jean married John Holtzhauer of Minster, Ohio, in 1948, and they lived in Minster until 1951, when they moved to Dayton, where they raised their family. Then it was off to Florida for several years and later, to Tipp City in 2005. Her husband passed away in 2017. They have four children, 11 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
Mary Jean is also a member and former volunteer at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. She worked at Dolly Toy and was a proofreader at the Tipp City Herald.
When asked what was most special about the celebration, Mary Alice replied, “Having all the people here…because living in here gets kind of lonely sometimes.” She quickly smiled and turned her attention to her sister and said, “Oh, Jean’s the oldest, she’s still the boss!” with a few chuckles. Mary Jean was asked the same question and replied, “God put a hand on me so we can all be together today.” Later on, when told that her twin gave almost the same answer, Mary Alice commented, “See how our minds work together?” with a grin.
Dressed in identical pink dresses, the two sisters enjoyed lively conversations, hugs, and kisses, and happily posed for loads of family pictures.
Mary Alice’s son, Mike Haley, and his wife, Maria, came in from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He spoke fondly of growing up in the Dayton/Tipp City area with a wonderful, close-knit family. After moving to Michigan in 1989, he recalled that his mother always had chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles waiting for his kids after they would make the five-hour trip to Tipp City. “It was something that the kids always looked forward to,” he said. In addition, “She would pack a huge lunch for our trip on the way back.”
Tipp City resident Ron Haley, Mike’s brother, a former Tipp City firefighter, was there with his wife, Jan. As Ron and Jan were busy making sure everyone in the crowd was getting what they needed, Jan took a minute to expand a little on the family’s history of twins. She noted that the twins’ mother had also been a twin and that no other twins have been born in the family since Mary Alice and Mary Jean were born.
Another family milestone to note is that the twins’ older sister, Lucinda (Niekamp) VonderHaar, also lived to be 100. She had been a Tipp City resident for many years and passed away in 2017.
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