By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The oldest generation in Wood County is known for long marriages, big families and hard work. The elders are also rich in wisdom and wit – and a willingness to share it.
Last week, 145 of the oldest local residents were recognized at the 90-Plus Spectacular at the Wood County Senior Center in Bowling Green.
At 106 years old, Margaret Neifer was the oldest person present.
“I never dreamed I’d be over 90 years old,” said Neifer, a former teacher in Weston.
For those challenged by math or history, Neifer was born during World War I. She still enjoys life.
“I do everything, everything I did before,” she said. “Except when my knee says ‘no.’”
This was the 12th annual recognition of the oldest local residents. Denise Niese, executive director of the Wood County Committee on Aging, said the number of those 90 and above is proof of the quality services available to help people continue healthy lifestyles and socialization as they age.
“This just reinforces that Wood County is a fabulous place to age,” Niese said.
Many of the oldest generation spent their lives farming, working from sunrise to sunset. Others took a leap and went to college, and many served their country in the military.
Some shared sage words of advice – on saving money, spending time with family, working hard and having fun:
- Phyllis Allen, 93, worked as a nursing assistant and with her husband, Harry, had six children and a lot of grandchildren. Her advice: “Don’t have a lot of children.”
- Rhoda Basinger, 92, grew up in the North Baltimore and Findlay area, and worked as a school guard, in a dentist office and in a meat market. Her advice for future generations is to “laugh when you can.”
- Carolyn Borcherding, 91, grew up near Pemberville and worked in the bank there. She taught Sunday School, coordinated bloodmobiles, volunteered at the Pemberville Fair and is a proud member of the American Legion Auxiliary. Her advice: “Ask the Lord God to be your guide each day, don’t judge a book by the cover, a smile can make a big difference.”
- Ruah Buckingham, 90, grew up in Bowling Green, and was the secretary at Crim Elementary School for 28 years. Her advice: “Find a job you enjoy because you work for many years.”
- Patricia Creeger, 91, grew up near Bairdstown and worked as a homemaker and in a factory. Her piece of advice for future generations is to “stay ornery.”
- Luette Feasell, 93, grew up in Bloomdale, where she served as postmaster. Her advice to future generations: “Think before you speak. And if someone needs help, do what you can to help them.”
- Mary Gwin, 92, was a registered nurse at Wood County Hospital. She enjoyed horseback riding, gardening, playing golf and volunteering at the hospital and Bridge Hospice. Her advice to future generations is to get an education and be active outdoors.
- Betty Henry, 94, who grew up in Perrysburg, has lasting memories of playing in an orchestra, doing round and square dances at weddings and other events in Wood County. She played tennis until she was 86 years old. Her advice: Eat cookies and drink coffee.
- Wilma Kidd, 90, grew up in Rudolph and Bowling Green, and worked as a nurse. Her advice: It is better to be kind than to be right.
- William P. “Bill” King Jr., 94, grew up in Perrysburg and was a carpenter. His advice is to stay healthy – don’t drink, smoke or do drugs. Be polite and help others.
- Eleanor Kramp, 90, grew up in Liberty Township and was a U.S. mail carrier on the Rudolph route for 30 years. Her advice is to be kind, friendly and giving, to always be ready to lend a helping hand, and don’t burn bridges.That clearly paid off for Kramp, whose 90th birthday party was attended by more than 100 people.
- Pauline LaMarche, 92, grew up in Toledo and worked as a bank teller and a cashier. Her advice for future generations is to enjoy personal relationships instead of things.
- Doris Miller, 91, grew up in North Baltimore and helped her husband with his insurance business. Her significant memory is spending a lot of time roller skating, and her piece of advice for future generations is to listen to your parents.
- George Petre, 91, grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, and was an architect, construction manager, auto mechanic, and worked in commercial sales. His piece of advice to future generations is to “keep in mind that you don’t need to spend your life in one position, if you have an opportunity, go for it.”
- George Seifert, 96, grew up in New York City and has been a precision lens polisher, a grade school teacher, a test developer for the Educational Testing Service and a professor at Bowling Green State University. His advice: pay attention to our democratic system—there are always those who want to do away with it. A good defense is to take a course in civics.
- Nancy Seifert, 93, grew up near Cleveland in a house with nine acres of garden. Her father’s hobby was growing chrysanthemums and gladioli. She worked in chemistry and biology labs, and taught biology at BGSU. Her advice is to marry someone who is friendly and likes to travel, plus to see North America’s national parks, live abroad briefly and plant a garden.
Several of those at the 90-Plus Spectacular event have celebrated marriages that have lasted longer than many lives. Some started as school sweethearts, others met on the job.
- Lee Deffenbaugh, 91, who grew up in Liberty Township, shared his advice to “have faith, respect others, be creative and frugal and live on less than you make.” Sally Deffenbaugh, 91, who also grew up in Liberty Township, has been married to Lee for 72 years. Her advice was to “have faith, respect others, be creative and frugal and use your brain.”
- Emmy Hann, 92, was a hospital dietitian and college instructor in nutrition. She was married for 56 years to Dr. William D. Hann. The two met in 1951 at a state department lecture on “The Oil Situation in Iran.”
- Marian Dennis, 90, grew up in Cleveland and worked as a registered nurse. She learned surgical nursing for the operating room and assisted one of the first doctors performing open heart surgery in 1952. Her advice to future generations is to follow your favorite interests, seek education your whole life and have enjoyable hobbies. Her husband, Wallace “Bud” Dennis, 97, also grew up in Cleveland. He served in the U.S. Navy, was a policeman in Bowling Green, a sheriff’s deputy for Wood County, and director of emergency management for Wood County. Among the most memorable moments of his life was the birth of their first son, when the phones were dead. Bud raced to the hospital to find the doctor carrying what turned out to be his son, who was in distress. But after 10 days of excellent care, their son was able to come home. The couple’s longevity could be helped by Bud’s advice of “Never go to bed angry, give your spouse a kiss goodnight and tell her that you love her.”
- Ralph Hummel, 94, grew up in Bloomdale and worked for 42 years at Ford-Bendix-Honeywell (Sparkplugs) along with farming for his whole life. He has been married to Betty for 75 years. He’s enjoyed bowling, fishing and hunting, auctions, going to church, chocolate chip cookies and playing euchre.
- Harold Mercer, 99, grew up in Portage Township and worked in construction. He and his former classmate, Velma Crawford, were married for 65 years. His piece of advice for future generations is “don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t use drugs, get married, have a family and enjoy life.”
Many of the seniors shared memories – some simple pleasures like Sunday dinners with family, and others spectacular like world travels:
- John Cheney, 91, was president and CEO of Hancock-Wood Electric, and served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves for 28 years. Memories that stand out for Cheney include going on an Honor Flight in 2016, building an award-winning biplane, driving in the re-enactment of the Lincoln Highway convoy, and marrying his wife, Elaine.
- Grace Cron, 90, grew up on Otsego Pike, and was a schoolteacher. Her favorite memories are of food, with her favorite being mashed potatoes.
- Emily Guion, 102, grew up in southern Missouri and worked as a librarian until she married. She loved to whistle and made a record while she was in college of tunes she whistled. Later she used that whistle to call in her children at dinnertime and bedtime.
- Paul Huff, 96, joined the Navy in 1943 and then worked at Atlas Crankshaft/Cummins Diesel for 30 years. He restored about 40 Model A Ford cars, which was his favorite pastime.
- Dale Johnson, 92, grew up in Lake Township and worked for 41 years at Libbey-Owens-Ford. He played accordion in a dance band for 50 years and was also a church organist for several years. He and his wife have been married 71 years.
- Tatiana Kirdahy, 92, grew up in Florence, Italy. She remembers being aboard a ship leaving her home country and watching it disappear on the horizon. Her advice is to prepare yourself to be self-sufficient and support yourself.
- Elizabeth Kretz, 98, grew up in Toledo and worked in the Owens-Illinois teletype department. Her favorite memory is from 1948, when she met her future husband at the co-ed weekend at the YMCA Camp Storer in Michigan. Her advice to future generations is to go to church.
- Richard McMorgan, 90, grew up in Toledo and worked in the printing business. His significant memory is decorating for Christmas for 30-plus years – with a tree in every room – and holding open houses for people to come and see.
- Shirley Rose, 90, grew up in Portage and worked secretarial jobs. Her significant memories include Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Wood County tornado in 1953, the first man on the moon in 1969, the 1978 blizzard, and the beginning of the electronic age.
- Willie Smith, 91, who was married to Elaine for 70 years, shared the memory of his first dinner with his wife after returning from the Korean War where he had served as a tank repair/retrieval technician. The restaurant was candle-lit and he said “Honey, I have been eating by candlelight for the last two years. Can we have real light?” His advice for future generations is that life goes by fast – have fun, enjoy each day and give all the time and energy you can to family and friends.
- Bonnie Stearns, 90, taught first grade at Conneaut School in Bowling Green for 33 years. She fondly recalls being a docent for the Mazza Museum in Findlay. In that role, she visited the homes of several authors and illustrators of children’s books. When she told her grandson this, he shared with his classmates that his grandmother had a date with famous children’s author Eric Carle.
Some of the seniors worked many jobs, from the mundane to the memorable:
- Charles Davis, 90, who grew up in Perrysburg, managed bars and restaurants, including Mid Way from 1960 to 1963, Howard’s Bar from 1963 to 1983, and Redwood from 1980 to 1983.
- Patti Dunn, 94, grew up in rural Bowling Green. She worked in the chemistry department at BGSU and worked with hundreds of flyers at the Bowling Green airport during World War II. Her advice is “daily physical activity, checking on your friends and neighbors, and laughing – because it’s good for you.”
- Joyce Grimshaw, 93, who grew up in Detroit, was a junior high school teacher. At the wedding of one of her former students, the mother of the bride asked Joyce to sit next to her and after the event, the mother told Joyce “Now we got our daughter married.”
- Joyce Guiler, 100, was a dog groomer and also worked at The Farming & Dairy newspaper. She remembers her family always taking in stray animals, so they had multiple cats, dogs and chickens as pets.
- Nora Liu, 90, was born in Beijing, China, and later fled to Taiwan because of the war. She was a professor of exercise physiology and women’s basketball coach at BGSU. She was a great athlete and played for the Taiwan National Women’s Basketball Team.
- Patricia McGinnis, 95, known as “Principal Pat,” grew up in Fostoria, and worked for 20 years as a kindergarten teacher and 10 years as an elementary school principal. She also worked part-time for BGSU, and served on Bowling Green City Council.
- Sue Potter, 93, worked as a secretary at the U.S. State Department in the foreign services sector. She worked at embassies and consulates in Africa, Europe, Asia and Toronto, then returned to Bowling Green in 2001.
- Elaine Rumman, 93, grew up in the Bethlehem district of Palestine Biet Jala and is a retired social worker for Ann Arbor public schools. She also worked in Dearborn schools when Arab children needed someone who knew the language and culture. She reminds that “The hands that build bombs can also be used to build schools.”
