Very interesting obituary from a resident of Everett, Washington who was 108 when she died.

link

Sept. 3, 1897 - June 3, 2006
Longtime Everett resident, Mary Landon, died Saturday, June 3, 2006, of natural causes. She was 108 years old.
In the mid 1930's, she and her husband, Clifford Victor Landon, made Everett their permanent home. Their charming Cape Cod house on Beverly Boulevard was a familiar landmark on the Bothell Highway to Everett. Every spring, the always starkly white home would be brilliantly framed at the corners with red and pink rhododendrons, and a blanket of vivid blue Lithodora along the walkway to the front doorstep. An avid gardener, Mary would greet folks with dirt smudged hands, a floppy garden hat, and a pair of clippers in her apron pocket. However, she always considered the privacy hedge along the north side of the property as "that darn hedge," which needed trimming "far too often."
Born September 3, 1897, to Thomas Paul and Hulda Abigail Furman, Mary Landon was raised on a farm in Canton, Pennsylvania. She attended grade school and was the part of the last class to graduate from the original Canton High School before it was torn down and a new one was built. Mary and her fellow senior classmates celebrated graduation with a trip to Washington, D.C., where they shook hands with President Wilson (she found his handshake cold and limp), toured the Smithsonian, the Mint and the other sights of the Capital. She met her future husband, Cliff, when they were both about age five--during a game of chase, she stole his new stocking cap and threw it down the outhouse toilet. Somehow all was forgiven and they married in 1916 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Early in their marriage, Cliff used his skills as a taxidermist to make what he thought would be a fine gift for Mary--a beautiful rattlesnake skin belt. Mary opened the gift, screamed and dropped it--little did Cliff know that she hated snakes!
For the next 18 years, Cliff and Mary, with two daughters in tow, lived and worked in Pennsylvania, Florida, California and Washington (Meadowbrook, Snohomish and Seattle). The family, now with a son, made their final move (much to Mary's relief) to Everett where they lived for 63 years. Now settled in the community, Mary's civic life blossomed. She made sandwiches for returning WWII pilots at Paine Field and organized the "Gulls Nest" club for teenagers during WWII. She served on the following organizations: Eastern Star; president of PTA and PTA Council; Youth Center Advisory Council; president of Snohomish District Washington State Federated Women's Club; president of Pilchuck Council for Camp Fire Girls and recipient of the Luther Gulick Award; Mother's Club for Boy Scouts; president and longtime member of Laurel Heights Study Club; and Daughters of the American Revolution, Marcus Whitman Chapter. With Cliff's retirement, and the children grown up, Mary pursued her love of teaching and became certified to teach adult education classes (Group Development) at Everett Community College. She continued to serve her community as a volunteer for the Snohomish County Victim/ Witness Assistance Program and the county court house. Also, she was selected to serve as a representative of the Federated Women's Club to the White House Conference on Crime in Washington, D.C.
Together, Mary and her husband shared many loves. As rock hounds (and members of the Everett Rock Club), they traversed all of the Western states and Canada in their camper, often following the back roads, usually without a plan or destination. Their basement was a treasure trove of fascinating minerals, sliced thunder eggs, prehistoric Eohippus teeth and polished agates. As card players, they enjoyed monthly group card parties, playing Pinochle, Bridge and 500, but Cribbage was the most fun for Mary, especially when skunking her husband, Cliff.
Frugal and creative, (skills learned during the Great Depression), Mary would wash used paper plates, and dry them, saving them for next time. On one occasion, however, a wet paper plate was placed in a hot oven for drying and was promptly forgotten. Frugality proved to be a rather charred affair.
Nonetheless, the Thanksgiving table was always set with Mary's Spode china "Wickerdale", a material indulgence she permitted herself later in life. The best times were spent after dinner, with servings of her cheddar cheese topped homemade Macintosh apple pie in front of each family member, talking about family history. She and Dad were the family's connection to the previous generations. Through her love of genealogy and history and her fascinating first hand stories of her parents and older brothers, and Civil War veteran and Libby Prison survivor, Grandfather Solomon Smith, the family learned about their ancestry. As she talked, she would proudly reach for an antique vase or plate from her display cupboard, saying this belonged to Mother-In-Law Florence or Sister-in-Law Rachel. Mary's favorite family heirloom was a ladies Pepperbox handgun, used for protection by the sister of a good friend of the family. As a school teacher during the Civil War, the sister had to cross both the North and the South's lines to get to school daily!
Spunky and quick to laugh, Mary loved public television, from the Forsyte Saga and Master Piece Theatre to Monty Python's "naughty bits of an ant" (a source of endless, silly laughter that left the family blue in the face and Cliff frowning). She also thoroughly enjoyed a good biography or a good mystery, and she frequently chipped away at her favorite witty Ted Shane crossword puzzle, asking others "what's a 10 letter word for xxxxxx?"
When a friend asked her at age 100, what was the most important accomplishment she had known in her life, she thought for a moment, and answered "women's rights"--not the automobile, nor the airplane, not the computer and not the moon walk. Thanks Mother for reminding us of what's important.
At the time of the death of her husband, Cliff, the two had been married for 81 years.
She is survived by her cherished children, Mary Elizabeth Landon Burns-Haley, of Renton, Washington, Frances Ella Landon Black, of Bellevue, Washington, and Thomas Edward Landon (Joyce), of Ocean Shores, Washington. As well she is survived by three generations of loving and devoted grandchildren, great-grandchil-dren and two great-great-grand-children.
We are forever grateful we had her for so many years, more years than we could have imagined-how lucky we are! We dearly miss her loving, kind heart, quick mind and sense of humor.