Corning Inc. is celebrating the company’s 175th anniversary with events throughout 2026. One of the company’s oldest former employees, Pauline Reidy, is looking forward to a big milestone of her own.
Nearly 100 people turned out recently to celebrate Reidy, a Corning native who is turning 100 later this year.
Pauline Reidy said the celebration of her upcoming 100th birthday during an event Saturday, July 11 at the North Baptist Church was much appreciated.
“It’s just wonderful,” Pauline Reidy said. “I didn’t expect to celebrate my 100th birthday. I give all the credit to my savior Jesus Christ. He is the one that kept me along all these years.”
Pauline Reidy’s 100th birthday is Dec. 7, 2026, but many family members who live as far away as Arizona and Florida decided to have the celebration in the summer, making it easier for everyone to attend the event.
The party was attended by about 90 people, many of them family members, including her three sons, John Lee, Walter Reidy, and George Reidy.
“We all grew up here in the Corning area. It’s such a nice place. I love coming back,” said John Lee, Pauline’s oldest son. “It just means so much to all of us that she is still here and we are able to come back and share this day with her.”
Walter Reidy, Pauline’s son, said he was just glad to be there celebrating this day with Pauline, friends, and family members.
“I live with mom, I’m her caregiver,” added her son George Reidy. “This day, and this weekend celebration for her is a special time, and she is really enjoying it.”
Pauline Reidy grew up in Gibson on College Avenue, attending middle school at Gibson School before moving on to attend Corning Free Academy High School for her freshman year. She then quit school to work for Corning Glass Works in 1943, at the age of 16.
Pauline, born Dec. 7, 1926, devoted her life to her family, her church and community, said Lynn Marie Lee, Pauline’s niece. She is a fierce lover of cats, boardgames, cooking, and arts and crafts.
She had humble beginnings, the daughter of an Ingersoll Rand Chipper and Grinder and a stay-at-home mother, Lynn Marie Lee said. There was no indoor plumbing or running hot water at the College Avenue home where she grew up.
Pauline worked at Corning Glass Works for a few years, where she met her husband, John Lee, who she married in 1947. The couple started a family shortly thereafter, with John born in 1948 and Jeannine born in 1951.
In February 1952, John Lee died suddenly on the job, which meant in a moment Pauline’s life drastically changed, and she had to support two small children alone on a 9th grade education.
Pauline then approached Corning Glass Works and requested a job to help take care of her small family, Lynn Marie Lee said. After a few years, she met her second husband, Morris Reidy, while at work, and in 1956, the two were married.
Her family grew, as she became a stepmom to Walter and Sharleen Reidy, and mother of George Reidy in 1957. After her second marriage, Pauline moved back to the street she grew up on, College Avenue, and has remained in the same house for the last 70 years.
Pauline never drove a car, Lynn Marie Lee said. She spent her days taking care of her family. She enjoyed crocheting, cooking and canning. She regularly attended church and often helped others, whether family or friends.
Lynn Marie Lee said when Hurricane Agnes hit in 1972, causing the Chemung River to overflow, Pauline was working as a custodian for the First National Bank on Market Street in Corning.
Pauline was trapped in the building as she was trying to save the records of the bank that were in the basement. As the flood waters poured in, she worked to move all the files that she could from the floor in an effort to save important information.
Lynn Marie Lee said after Hurricane Agnes passed and without water or electricity for more than a month, Pauline trapped water in a hand-dug pond and cooked over an open fire in her backyard.
Using the open fire, she canned perishable food from the refrigerator and freezer, in an effort to not waste anything, Lynn Marie Lee said. As a result, she not only was able to feed her family, but she eventually fed others in the community that needed food.
Pauline has had many other adventures throughout her life, and she has seen massive changes over the past century.
She has outlived her parents, siblings, two husbands, two of her children, Jeannine Kies and Sharleen Reidy, and countless friends and extended family.
“We are proud to call her mom, grandma, and great grandma,” Lynn Marie Lee said.
This article originally appeared on The Leader: She’s seen it all. Corning celebrates Pauline Reidy’s 100 years
Reporting by Jeff Smith, Corning Leader / The Leader
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Smith, Corning Leader | USA TODAY Network
