Wesley Homes Des Moines is honored to have three centenarian residents: Rev. Marion Kline, Marianne Woodward and Gladys Swope.
The phrase ?You?ve come a long way baby? might have been created especially for Rev. Marion Kline.
Hers was a pioneering career for women in the United Methodist church system. In 1956 when the United Methodist Board voted to admit women as pastors, she was among the first group of 27 women nationwide to be accepted.? She enjoys staying in touch with the only other surviving pastor of that group.
Marion graduated from the University of Washington in 1933 where she received a scholarship to a Baptist seminary. She received a Master?s Degree in Christian Education in 1945 and a Master?s of Divinity degree while pastoring.
She was recommended for youth group service to a country church in Wisconsin where she built a thriving youth group in a rural area of about 800 people. The pastor believed she should have her own church, but the district bishop at that time was not about to allow women pastors. Youth groups were one thing, pastors another.
Despite church opposition and reluctance from her first congregation in Wisconsin, Marion stayed. She said, ?After three years, they almost forgave me for being a woman.?
At another church, the congregation gave her a corsage every Sunday for four years. When she was scheduled to be transferred, they fought to keep her ? and won.
Recognition from her peers earned her a post as associate to the head of the United Methodist Conference Board, but she had to move to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan for the post.
After a trip to Tokyo, she knew she wanted to serve overseas and petitioned the Board of Global Ministers for a post. She was 50 years old at the time. They immediately sent her to the Philippines where she lived for the next 15 years, training pastors and teaching in the theological seminary there.
At 65, Marion moved to Olympia, WA, where she planned to retire and help her brother, but she continued to work for another 10 years. She retired at 75 and moved to Wesley Homes in 1988.? For nine years, she arranged twice-a-week entertainment programs and has held offices on the resident council at The Gardens. She is currently active in the Current Events discussion group.
?It never occurred to me that I would live so long,? Marion said. ?I simply never thought about it. I was too busy. I enjoyed life, and my 90s were very good to me.? Highlights of her 90s include a trip to Toronto to see five plays in one week and seeing the century mark change to 2000.
Two hundred and fifty people attended Marion Kline?s 100th birthday party in 2011 at The Gardens. Dressed in a red dress she made just for the party, Marion enjoyed every minute of the fellowship and sincere regard she received from family, friends, former co-workers and colleagues connected with the Methodist ministry.
?I honestly think my longevity is due to being active,? said Marianne Woodward. ?I have always led a physical life, and I still exercise.? At 101 years old, Marianne uses the exercise equipment at Wesley Homes almost every day. She got fellow residents together for pocket billiards, and now seven men and women play nearly every evening. ?It is cutthroat billiards,? Marianne noted with a glint in her eye.
Marianne was born on a farm in Minnesota, but her father moved the family to South Dakota for his health. She met her husband at a dance in the Grange Hall where everyone went to socialize. Lawrence Welk played at the dances Marianne attended. She noted, ?It was long before he became famous.?? Marianne also noted that she was well-chaperoned by her father.
She and her husband owned and operated the Woodward Bakery in Missouri. Marianne ran the shop in the front and her husband operated the bakery in back. They visited Seattle to locate her brother who was a restaurant chef. Seattle made a good impression on her husband. It wasn?t long before they sold their bakery and opened another in Chillicothe, WA.
?When we opened the doors, I had $12 in my pocket,? Marianne explained. She remembered the godsend of a ton of wheat given to them by a local farmer to be paid for later.
Marianne is also a former reading teacher. She developed her own specialized program for teaching grade school students how to read. She has a Master?s Degree in education from Seattle University, has a Bachelor?s Degree from the University of Washington and attended Auguocana College in Sioux Falls, SD.
She came to Wesley Homes in 1995 after her husband died. She uses her computer daily and had one of the first personal computers and remembers when computing was done with punch cards on large machines. She enjoys creating cards of all types on one of a succession of computers she has owned.
One tip Marianne has for people moving from a house to an apartment comes from her own experience and her daughter?s idea. They measured her furniture, and her daughter drew the outline lightly with a piece of chalk right on the carpet. It vacuumed away and was a marker for the movers to set down the furniture.
?My move to Wesley Homes was easy, and I love it here,? Marianne concluded.
Relaxing and enjoying the sunny view from her immaculate apartment in The Gardens, Gladys Swope protested that she hadn?t had as interesting a life as many of her friends and neighbors. She said many of her neighbors are in their 90s, so perhaps reaching 100 isn?t that unusual. She also has relatives who lived to 84 and 94.
Gladys was born in 1912 in Vancouver, Canada, and moved to Portland, OR, at age 12 with her mother and brother to be near relatives. She attended grammar school in Portland and met her future husband, Collins, there. Collins was the youngest from a very large family and was sent to live with his sister who was 20 years older and happened to be Gladys? mother?s best friend.
She laughingly tells the story of attending Saturday morning serial movies with Collins because neither family would allow them to go alone. ?He would scrunch down and get in for the under 12 ticket, but I had to pay for 12 and over. It made me so mad because we were the same age.?
That childhood friendship blossomed to love and marriage.
?Collins went into the Navy right out of High School in 1929. There were no jobs, the depression had just begun and his family hadn?t the money to send him to school.?
It wasn?t until 1937 that they were able to get married, and Collins left the Navy in 1941. As Gladys and Collins were on their way to Marshfield, OR [now Coos Bay] on December 7, President Roosevelt was announcing Pearl Harbor Day; war with Japan had begun. Collins went back to sea in the Merchant Marine until 1949.
Gladys worked for Frederick and Nelson department store, but she really liked traveling with Collins. They were hikers and backpackers, walking twice to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. They enjoyed RV-caravanning to many places in Mexico, traveling to the tip of the Baja Peninsula, which they found particularly fascinating. They took many trips to such destinations as Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and the ruins in Guatemala.
As to what might contribute to Gladys? long life, she maintains it is always being physically active. She received her Junior Red Cross swimming pin at age 14. Even if money was tight, there was always a dollar for dancing lessons, with ballet and tap being her favorites. She has always exercised and is a familiar walker on the grounds of Wesley Homes. She takes advantage of the exercise classes offered whenever she can.
For 25 years, Gladys has lived at Wesley Homes. Never one to seek the limelight, Gladys? modesty and lively interest in everyone else are two of her more outstanding characteristics. An alert listener, she is quick to participate in conversations about everything from political affairs to historical events to family memories.
She volunteers in the Mini-Shop and the Flea Market.? ?The Flea Market is so interesting because of the variety. We never know what is going to come in. The prices couldn?t be better, and it is really a fun place to work. I enjoy it very much. And I work with some exceptional people who keep things running smoothly.?
By Donna Wilson, Wesley Homes Des Moines resident
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