One of Delta's First Flight Attendants Just Turned 103 Years Old

Jul 25, 2019 by apost team

Celebration Village Acworth in Georgia seems like it would be a joyous place full of parties. But despite the name, it actually serves as a retirement community. However, a recent event just gave them a reason to honor one of their own residents! A woman named Sybil Peacock Harmon celebrated her 103rd birthday

Although she now spends her days at the community relaxing and remembering her past years, her life prior to retirement was actually full of excitement. When she was born in 1916 in Minden, Louisiana, she knew from a very young age that she was destined for travel and adventure. Little did she know, all of her dreams would later come true throughout her miraculous life!

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According to an inerview she did with Travel & Leisure back in 2018, Sybil graduated from nursing school at the age of 24. Soon after, in 1940, she was hired as a stewardess for Delta Air Lines. Back in this time, all of the people hired as flight attendants were also registered nurses that were set in place to help passengers who often got sick from traveling so often. In fact, some of their duties actually included distributing chewing gum.

This gum was used to help ease the effects on the ears and throats of the passengers from the pressure that comes from being so high up in the air. Sybil recalls her time spent with Delta very fondly, even admitting that at times, it made her feel like a celebrity. Since having stewardesses on planes was a new innovation, people often would wait at the gate and marvel at her.

However, Sybil’s life soon became even more memorable when she left her job at the airline to serve in World War II. She served at the Army Air Force hospital that was located in Coral Gables, Florida. Later in life, she worked as a special duty nurse to a U.S. Air Force General. Two years after joining the service, she received a promotion as a first lieutenant and even later joined the 830th Medical Air Evacuation Squadron.

A short time later, she became discharged but continued to work as a nurse until it was her time to retire in 1985. Clearly, this woman’s birthday is something to celebrate!

We hope Sybil had an amazing time with her friends and family fondly looking back on her time as a stewardess and a nurse. You can learn more about Sybil in the video below. What do you think about her story?