[Users] Fwd: Woman turns 108 with a smile

[Cory McMahon]

Wow!!
Isn't this amazing?
Here you go:


----- Original Message -----

The Olympian, Washington State USA
Sunday, June 03, 2007

Woman turns 108 with a smile

By Venice Buhain

LACEY - Daisy Murphy's life has spanned from the horse-and-buggy age to
the computer age.

  On Sunday, she celebrated her 108th birthday at Lacey Chapel church,
where she attends every week. She had another birthday party at Colonial
Inn, an assisted-living facility where she lives.

"I have a lot of friends. I've lived here awhile," she said.

Still active

A lifelong avid reader, Murphy, who has lost her eyesight, was at a rally
earlier this year in support of funding for the Washington Talking Book
and Braille Library in Seattle. She sat at the top of the Capitol steps
holding a sign that said "107 and Still Reading."

"I have used the talking books for so many years, and they were using me
to get a little attention. We need those books, I think," she said. "I
would gladly help if I could. But there's not much I can do anymore."

"I'm amazed at her strength," said her son, Don Murphy, 73. "She has a
great character and a great mental attitude."

Beginnings

On June 3, 1899, Murphy was born to Alice and I.G. Wikstrom, a native
Swede who moved to the United States when he was 19. I.G. Wikstrom, who
became a U.S. citizen and was patriotic to his new country, owned a
lumbermill in Scappoose, Ore., and was a well-respected man who owned the
first car in Columbia County, Ore. "He built the sidewalk to the high
school, so we wouldn't have to pass the liquor stores," Daisy Murphy said.

The Wikstroms had 10 children. I.G. Wikstrom lived to be 105.

She became a teacher at age 19, earning her degree and certificate at
Oregon Normal School in Monmouth. She met a fellow educator, Archie
Murphy, and the pair married on Christmas Day 1926.

The family, which included Don and two older daughters, Dea and Lynn,
moved to Olympia just before World War II, when Archie Murphy served in
the U.S. military in Europe.

After the war, Archie Murphy became the director of education at McChord
Air Force Base and was a civilian educator for the military until he
retired in the 1960s.

"For a while, Dad had her teaching out there at Fort Lewis," Don Murphy
said. Her job was to tutor soldiers who couldn't read very well.

"The war was over, and the place was flooded with boys who left school to
go to the army," Daisy Murphy said. "And my husband handled hundreds of
boys, trying to get them into college."

For a time, the family lived on Conger Street in Olympia. Their family
home eventually was sold to the Olympia School District to build Jefferson
Middle School, Don Murphy said.

After Archie Murphy's retirement, the couple lived in Washington Land
Yacht Harbor, a mobile home park for people who owned Airstream
recreational vehicles. The couple traveled to Europe and toured the
country in their Airstream. Archie Murphy died about 20 years ago.

She continued to live on her own until age 102, when she moved to Colonial
Inn. Before her eyesight faded, she crocheted hundreds of blankets for the
Lacey Chapel to send on missionary trips.

Karolyn Earnshaw, who was her neighbor in her previous home, remarked on
her positive attitude.

"She was always such an inspiration to everyone," she said. "She has never
complained about any pain, and I was amazed by that."

Though she no longer can read books or newspapers, she subscribes to two
newspapers and listens avidly to talk and news radio, her caregiver, Kate
Sandoval, said. 

"She knows all the issues and she's voted in every election her whole
life," Sandoval said.

Daisy Murphy enjoys having biographies and history books read to her or
listening to them on tape.

"Everybody should learn American history. But history to me is a little
earlier than with most people," Murphy said.

Don Murphy said he still learns from his mother.

"It's just her wisdom. The experiences she's had in life, from people in
horses and buggies and her father had one of the first automobiles in that
county," Don Murphy said. "She doesn't get focused and get down in
minutiae. You know how some people can get depressed over that, and she
doesn't let that happen. She's got a great sense of humor, too."

Daisy Murphy said people sometimes ask about her secret to a long life.

"I have fun with all of them, but I'm not giving advice," she said.

Venice Buhain covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at
360-754-5445 or vbuhain at theolympian.com.


http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/124608.html

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