Lower Burrell woman who was a real-life Rosie the Riveter turns 102

Sue Gregory’s favorite photo of her spunky grandmother, Laura Such of Lower Burrell, shows her riveting at Alcoa in New Kensington during World War II just like Rosie the Riveter.

Such worked at Alcoa riveting canisters for military supplies like many women who stepped up during World War II to build weapons and other needed products, living up to the Rosie character and the slogan “We Can Do It.”

Such did it, and has done so much more in her 102 years.

A bevy of relatives from Texas, Florida and Arizona converged in Lower Burrell this week to honor and celebrate the matriarch’s 102nd birthday. There’s as much merriment as there are relatives: Four children, 11 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and 10 great-great-grandchildren.

Gregory was among the throng of relatives who sat around Such’s kitchen table swapping stories this week.

“She liked her riveting job at Alcoa,” Gregory said. “She didn’t want to quit it when the men returned home from the war.”

Such was unconventional earlier in her life, as well.

“She always has told me while all of her sisters were inside cooking and cleaning and doing their womanly duties, my grandmother wanted to be outside with her father working in the fields,” Gregory said.

Such was one of 14 children and has outlived all of her siblings.

James H. Such, of The Colony, (a city north of Dallas) Texas, explained his mother’s lifelong tenacity.

“She was raised as a farmer and had plenty of hard work in her life,” he said. “She’s always been a churchgoer with a strong belief system and has enjoyed support from many family members. Her faith sustains her primarily.”

Laura Such is a longtime parishioner at Puckety Presbyterian Church in Lower Burrell where she was a longtime volunteer for Meals on Wheels.

She is still an active reader and maintains her Lower Burrell home.

“She’s pretty much self-sufficient,” James Such said.

To feed her visiting family this week, Laura Such cooked her famous pot roast from Naser’s in Oklahoma Borough. The family pitched in for the rest of the birthday feast, including the birthday cake from Lower Burrell’s Mazziotti Bakery.

“My mother says to never stop moving,” James Such said. “That’s the best advice I can give anybody.”

Laura Such said her philosophy is “to love each other and stay out of my children’s lives.”

Such was happy to be with her family for her birthday.

“I’m blessed that I have a good family and children,” she said.

She never thought she would reach 102 years of age.

“I’ve been very blessed all of my years,” Such said. “The Lord has been with me all my life.”

One of the biggest changes she has seen in her lifetime is rapid technology and “those newfangled phones and stuff,” Such said.

Living through the Great Depression and World War II, Such said, was hard. “But it’s worse now than it has ever been because of the way people treat other people.”

Such continues to serve as an example to her children, they said.

“My grandmother is good at listening but she doesn’t tell people how to live their lives,” Gregory said.

Rose Harkey, Such’s oldest daughter, from Sanford, Fla., explained her mother’s appeal.

“The way she treats all of her children makes us feel like we are the special ones,” Harkey said. “She gives all the feeling that we are all number one.”