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Warren County ESP client, Marvel – affectionately known by all as Marvelous Marvel – lives in Maineville with Jeanette, her niece and caregiver. Marvel celebrated her 106^th birthday in 2025.

A descendant of one of the region’s original settlers and Revolutionary War soldier, Jacob Rich, Marvel spent most of her life as a farmer, breeding blue-ribbon cows with her husband, Lonnie, and selling hay to area farmers.

A real-life Rosie the Riveter, Marvel worked at a factory along the Little Miami River during WWII assembling canned heat containers for the military.

Many things have changed in Marvel’s lifetime. For example, she paid 25 cents to get her first driver’s license, never had to take a driving test and continued driving into her nineties.

In fact, it was in her mid-90s when Marvel decided she should hang up her car keys. She reached out to the county’s transit system for help getting where she needed to go. Soon after, she fell and broke her hip, got connected to Warren County ESP and began receiving home-delivered meals. Later, ESP provided an emergency response system and home care assistance (an aide to help with housekeeping, personal care and respite).

With support from ESP, Marvel continued to live alone until age 101 when Jeanette moved in with her. It was during the pandemic and Marvel had been diagnosed with kidney cancer.

The two have made good use of their time together, writing and publishing a book, Hunting Wildflowers, which is based on Marvel’s childhood memories and letters written to her grandfather during the Great Depression. Jeanette said the book has resonated with people in the community, helping them connect to shared memories of small-town life and serving as a reminder of why community roots still matter.

Since moving in with her aunt, Jeanette has had to manage a host of programs and services that help Marvel remain independent at home. “I wasn’t planning on this,” she said. “It just happened. But because of the support Marvel receives, I was able to step up to the plate.” That support now includes hospice care. She has also received physical therapy and once even had an in-home x-ray.

In the 10 years Marvel has been enrolled in ESP, her home health aide, Kevin, has been the one constant. Because Marvel requires 24/7 care, “[Kevin] being here is the only time I can get out of the house,” Jeanette said. “We feel as if he is one of the family.”  

Jeanette appreciates all the services Marvel is able to receive at home. “All of these services work together to support Marvel’s needs and mine,” she said. “It helps me function better [as a caregiver] so I can make sure she gets the care she needs.”

“Everyone else still works,” Jeanette said. “When I ask for help, everyone is too busy. That’s why your services are a lifeline for me.”