Former Page resident, Lillie Mae Gilleland, turned 100 years old on May 2.
“It’s very exciting,” she said. “I’ve never done this before!”
Gilleland moved to Coppell, Texas, three years ago to be closer to her family, but she spent more than half of her life in Page.
“It’s an exciting day in Coppell today,” said Lillie’s daughter Betty Lois Capella. “When mom woke up today she said, `What a wonderful day to be alive.’”
Family and several friends joined Lillie Mae for a party Tuesday. Even the mayor attended and wished her well.
Lillie Mae will celebrate her 100th birthday in great style in mid-May with nearly 40 friends and family members travelling to Dallas for a long weekend of reminiscing, storytelling and making new memories. Local Page resident, Ada Hatch, will attend the event representing Lillie Mae’s long list of treasured Page friends.
Lillie Mae and her family were among the first wave of Page pioneers. She and her husband Harry, and their four children, moved to Page in 1959 after Harry was hired to be the public relations officer for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, a position he held until his retirement.
Being part of establishing a new town during construction of the Glen Canyon Dam was quite exciting said Lillie Mae.
“Page and I started off together,” she said. “I got older and Page got mature.”
When Lillie Mae arrived in Page, they had just finished the first street of Bureau homes and had just paved the first streets. Everything else was sand.
For entertainment, they joined other families for barbecues, church activities and lots of exploring their new desert backyard. On Saturday afternoons, one of the Bureau storage facilities was converted into a makeshift movie theater where they’d watch 16mm movies.
“We weren’t spectators,” she said. “Page was, and still is, a town for doers.”

Ada Hatch and her husband Jim were good friends with Lillie Mae and her husband Harry.
“They drove all the way to our island in the upper peninsula of Michigan in their Volskwagen bus for our wedding,” Hatch recalls. “She baked our wedding cake on a wooden stove. She was known as the Page cake lady.”
Lillie Mae lived an active life and seldom missed a chance to participate in the many adventures her new desert home by the lake offered her. Once the dam waters created Lake Powell, she enjoyed boating and lake campouts. Hiking was another favorite pastime of hers. She enjoyed hiking in the area mountains, hiking in the Grand Canyon and once even hiked to the top of Rainbow Bridge before doing such was closed to hikers.
Lillie Mae was known about Page for her cake decorating. She created many wedding, birthday and special occasion cakes over the years. One of her favorite creations was a full replica of Glen Canyon Bridge and Dam, including Lake Powell, used as the centerpiece for a major USBR celebration.
She was able to parley her reputation as a talented cook and baker into some backcountry adventures where she served as camp cook. One was a 10-day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, another time was as camp cook for a movie production crew out in the desert for Lucille Ball’s television series when they filmed some TV episodes in the Page area.
Lillie Mae’s husband, in his capacity as public relations officer for the USBR, often escorted dignitaries and celebrities on tours of the dam, and Lillie Mae often came along. Her favorite celebrity meetings were Norman Rockwell, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, Barry Goldwater and Lucille Ball.  She even was a movie extra in “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” filmed near Page in 1965.
Lillie Mae was witness to some of the major events in world and American history. She was born during World War I. She later survived the Great Depression, then the food rationing and housing shortages of WWII.
She learned to drive behind the wheel of a Model A Ford in 1932 and drove until the age of 97. Given her choice, she’d still be driving.
“I’d just avoid the freeways,” she said.
Lillie Mae grew up watching silent movies and watched the industry evolve from black and white to Technicolor. The first time she watched television was in 1941. Her husband became the movie projectionist at Page Theatre for decades and motion pictures became an important part of her life. She particularly loved watching the Walt Disney era evolve, with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as an all-time favorite movie.
And while she misses independent living and her long-time Page friends, she has embraced living at River Oaks Assisted Living Facility.
“Life is just easier these days,” she said. “My friends and I enjoy a simpler lifestyle, and we appreciate the extra help we need at this stage of life.”
Life at River Oaks keeps her active and involved with her new community with almost-daily family visits, frequent, “rather wicked” domino games and gardening outside her apartment’s back door. She enjoys her home-grown fresh produce and still cooks many of her own meals.
Although she depends on her walker to get around, she still enjoys an active, mobile life and remains alert and mentally sharp, and keeps up with friends and family using Facebook, texts and emails.
She loves her iPhone and has become quite proficient taking selfies and surfing the Internet. She readily admits being addicted to playing FreeCell on her iPad. And while some might suggest she’s just “passing the time,” Lillie Mae attributes much of her mental sharpness to practicing her thinking skills while playing games.
She attributes her long life to loving the Lord, her family and her friends. She’s a healthy eater, subscribing to Clean Eating before it became popular in recent years.
And her advice to those coming behind her?
“Pay attention,” she said. “Learn something — even if you don’t feel the need.”
Lillie Mae plans to donate her body for medical study upon her death. Her daughter, Betty Lois Capella, calls this final act “a testament to her character..”
She’s scheduled to be a participant in the Willed Body Program at the University of Texas/Southwestern (UTSW) in Dallas.
“What a great opportunity for the medical professionals there to learn about aging and longevity from someone with acuity, especially since they’ve seen me as a patient for over 25 years,” she said.
But Lillie Mae, her family and her many friends hope that’s many years in the future.