CHICO MOTHER, DAUGHTER SHARE SAME BIRTHDAY
For one family, Dec. 25 means two kinds of greetings: “Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday” not to just one, but two members.
Mary Gaines, who turns 101 today, gave birth to her first child, Sharon, on Christmas Day 1939. Sharon Wimer turns 81 today.
As they have for decades, the two Chico women will share the familiar greetings today.
Having a birthday on Christmas Day didn’t make much difference to Wimer.
“It’s just how it was.”
But there were special traditions shared by the family including opening up gifts on Christmas Eve and going to Mass, and the birthday hugs on Christmas with a nice dinner.
This year, with the pandemic, there will be no Mass or big family gathering, but three of the children will be visiting.
“Now we have to visit her with the sliding glass door closed,” Wimer said of her mother who lives at Carmel House assisted living facility and has dementia.
Being 81 doesn’t mean stopping for Wimer, who takes three to four mile walks around her neighborhood daily.
“We ate healthy, but then everyone ate healthy.”
Longevity runs in the family, Wimer said, with her grandmother living to 93 years old, and her great-grandmother to 91.
Mary Gaines will enjoy visits from two of her five sons today. Son Larry is flying up from Lodi and son Jeff lives here.
The boys and Wimer will also share Christmas greetings with Wimer’s daughter, Katie Strick, who works at Carmel House three days a week and checks on her grandmother regularly.
Wimer said it’s nice to have that close family connection.
While always finding both birthday and Christmas gifts on their special day, the women also raised their families together. Gaines was pregnant with her last son at the same time Wimer was
with child. She has a son and daughter.
Born in Stockton, Gaines worked in a doctor’s office before the family duties with all the children grew larger, Wimer said, who worked as a nurse for 32 years at the former Chico Community Hospital and later Enloe Medical Center. She worked mostly at the East Avenue rehabilitation branch.
As the only girl and oldest, Wimer found she was taking care of her mischievous brothers too.
“The brothers always managed to find a toy that would drive Mom crazy. One year they got something that shot out ping pong balls, and there were ping pong balls all over the house.”
One brother planted a fake cockroach on a pie his mother had made.
“We heard this awful scream out of the kitchen,” said Wimer, recalling the incident with a laugh.
Christmas Day might also include remembering a favorite tale about Santa distributing gifts.
“One year, Santa forgot to put on gloves, and I recognized the hand. It was my mom,” Wimer recalled. One of the sons eventually got their mother a better Santa suit, but the secret was out.
Wimer said she’s gotten her mother new wooly socks, some scented lotion and soaps for Christmas, and plans the usual birthday wish.
“I’m happy about sharing birthdays. It is just really unusual to share a birthday with your mother.”
Carmel House owner Jeanine Murphy marveled over the mother-daughter birthday, saying, “It’s just so cool. How often does something like this happen?”