Centenarian Swims Into the Record Books

When Marie Krafft Kelleher ’35 attended Fredericksburg Teachers College, now the University of Mary Washington, students had to learn how to swim before they could graduate. That wasn’t a problem for Kelleher, who grew up in Alexandria, Va., spending lazy Sundays at nearby beaches and summer afternoons at the city pool. With nearly a century behind her − her 100th birthday is Dec. 21 − Kelleher is a record-setting swimmer who claimed two national titles this spring. She rises before dawn several mornings a week to squeeze in some laps before heading to work as board chairwoman and corporate secretary of the company she started with her late husband, Mike Kelleher. When she was in college, the Lee Hall pool, immaculately modern when it was built in 1927 with its fancy filtration system and tile-lined walls, became a harbor for Kelleher. But when she climbed into the passenger seat of her father’s car in 1931 to first see the campus, she wasn’t sure where she was headed. The … [Read more...]