A Tulsa woman is going on adventures in her new career as a flight attendant in her 70s.
Marolyn Allred loves taking in the scenery from Denver one day with stunning mountain views, to Des Moines the next, seeing the state capitol and other popular sites.
“I may not be the best flight attendant, but I’m the happiest,” said Allred. “I greet everyone with a smile, and I get a smile right back.”
Allred gets in a run in when she can. It’s one of the reasons she’s healthy and strong enough to become a flight attendant.
But she didn’t tell many people at first.
“Because I haven’t been to school in many, many years, and I honestly didn’t know if I would pass,” said Allred. “I didn’t want all these people knowing that I had gone to flight attendant training and failed.”
She said memorizing 70 acronyms, studying and preparing was overwhelming at times, but she passed with flying colors.
[ Southwest Airlines: No rebooking until Dec. 31 at the earliest ]
Allred’s overcome big obstacles before—surviving breast cancer.
“I had inflammatory breast cancer, and back 26 years ago, this survival rate was 15 percent,” said Allred. “One group of doctors had literally given me six to eight months, and I was like, ‘I’m really busy. I can’t do this. I can’t. I’ve got to be here.’ … And now here I am today, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m so thrilled.”
FOX23 can’t disclose the name of the airline Allred works for since she’s still in her probation period, but she said seeing two attendants around her age during a flight home from visiting her grandkids is what prompted her to apply.
But you won’t see Allred on your next flight out of Tulsa. Allred’s home base is in Utah, and she said she’s already hearing from passengers inspired by her story.
“My whole thing was you’re never too old to live out your dreams, and that’s what I’m doing,” said Allred.