BANDON — Mary Dalton reached a milestone this summer — her 101st.

At 4-feet, 11-inches — “Well, I was, but I’ve probably shrunk,” — it’s easy to picture Dalton 50 years ago as a feisty head cook in a restaurant, a position she held for 30 years at various restaurants, including 12-years at Del Mar in Gold Beach.

The diminutive woman still gets around handily with the help of a walker and with her sharp sense of humor fully engaged.

Now, Dalton is comfortable and happy in her home at Country Meadows adult care center on Rosa Road, where the piano is covered with birthday cards she received and the kitchen table boasts a bouquet of flowers. The staff at Country Meadows celebrated Dalton’s birthday with a carrot cake and several friends visited throughout that day.

Dalton grew up in Iowa and lived or worked in Portland, Coquille, Myrtle Point and Gold Beach. She was a prominent member in the Bible Baptist Church in Coquille and friends she made there still come to visit. She was married three times, once for 40 years, and had two children, both of whom she outlived.

She always loved to cook and still remembers some of her favorite recipes, including ones for cinnamon rolls and homemade bread that she prepared daily at the restaurant.

“Cooking was her passion,” said one of her caregivers. “Cinnabon had nothing on her.”

While she enjoys the family feeling at Country Meadows, Dalton jokes that she is looking for a rich man to marry.