Greta Cottrell was born on
December 16, 1905. The last of five children, she was the youngest
by 11 years, “I was quite a surprise”. After
high school, she attended one year of college earning her teaching
certificate and taught in a one room school house for one year
before quitting at age 19 to marry Herb Woodson. After divorcing
Herb three years later, she began singing with a 12-piece orchestra
and was soon discovered by the recording industry. Greta recorded six
albums during the roaring 20’s.
She traveled the U.S. by train, singing in speak
easy's and nightclubs during prohibition and in a touring
variety show for RKO records. Greta was married a total of five
times, outliving all her husbands but the first. All totaled, she
was married for 68 years. She never had children.
You were married for 68
years, how did you make it work?
Well, I've had five
husbands. I was married to Herbert for three years before we
divorced, then Ernie....it was love at first sight with Ernie as far
as I was concerned. We only knew each other six weeks but we were
married for 33 years. When Ernie died I married Harry, he had a heart
attack and died in his sleep 20 months after we got married. We went
to a football game one day and the next morning he was gone. It was
just awful. I was a widow again for two years and then I married
Frank and we were married for almost five years before he died of
cancer. Then I was a widow again for two years I guess, then I
married Dale Heslet. We were married when we were 70 years old and we
had 25 years together.
The secret to a good long
marriage is trust. It requires some give and take and being able to
communicate. And love.....lots of love. I don't have any children, I
had two step-sons. We thought we were going to adopt twins but by the
time we heard about them, they had been adopted by another family. It
would have been nice to have had children; right now I wish I did,
but I don't regret it. I was just so busy all my life.
You've outlived four
husbands, how do you deal with losing a spouse?
Actually the worst thing
that ever happened to me was losing my mother. I didn't lose her 'til
after I lost Ernie. It's difficult losing a spouse, it makes you feel
absolutely abandoned. When Ernie died I had friends that really took
care of me. You just have to make up your mind to get through it. I
developed the ability to put it behind me and look forward instead of
mourning forever. I've known people that set the table for their
departed husbands like he was going to be there for supper. That is
just feeding on misery and doesn't do any good. That doesn't mean
that I forget them, but I quit mourning and think about the wonderful
times we had together instead. You have to look at it like it's a
page in a book and you've turned that page.... a page in the book of
life. I miss them and I pray for them every night....all of them.
It's given me a completely different view of dying to where I have no
fear of it anymore.
Do you ever think about
dying?
Sure, I think about
dying...I wish I would. I don't want to live forever. I'd just like
to go before I run out of money (laughing).
I don't want to outlive my finances and I don't want to live so long
that I lose my mind. I see that here at the nursing home. I see these
people in wheel chairs that don't know where they are, they don't
know what they've eaten, they don't know anything. They're just kept
alive by medication, and I don't want that. I just want to go. I'd
rather go in my sleep if I had my druthers....just go to sleep and
never wake up. I don't fear dying. I just feel like I'm going on to
a better place. I believe what the Bible says, that we'll have
eternal life.
So you believe in the
Bible?
Oh yes, God is my best
friend. I have conversations with Him. I don't get many answers from
Him but I pray that He leads me in doing what He wants me to do. I
believe that He has steered and guided my life, and I've had a
wonderful life. I've
had sorrow too, but that's just part of life. I think God had His
hand in the middle of it all. I think He pulled me through all the
sorrow.
What has 100 years of
life taught you?
Life has taught me
patience more than anything. Patience is a virtue. Everything will
happen in it's own time. Learn to be patient and learn to forgive.
Don't hold grudges. Be quick to say “I'm sorry” and quick to
forgive....whether they apologize or not. And forgiveness in a
marriage is especially important. You know, they always said if
you're married, don't go to bed mad; make up before you go to bed.
Well, I think that's true.
So, being a cancer
survivor yourself, what advice do you have for someone battling
cancer?
I've had cancer; I've had
a breast removed, but I was lucky they got it all. They took 16 lymph
nodes and they got it in time. It didn't spread anywhere else, but I
never had to take chemo or radiation. Some people aren't so lucky.
When they told me I had
cancer, I thought that was the end, and I was scared. There's nothing
you can do but face it and accept it.....and fight. I'd tell them to
pray a lot. Fight and pray....that's the only thing you can do. I
just told myself, if that's what I've got, then that's what I've got.
What will be, will be. There's nothing else you can do about it.
Fight and pray, that's what I did....and I'm still here! The Lord's
been with me through it all and He kept me here for some reason.
It's all up to the Lord.
If you had just one
piece of advice to give someone, what would you say?Be
true to yourself. By that I mean be yourself... love yourself.
Believe in what you're doing and live while you've got the chance, I
mean really
live. Believe me, 100 years goes by
fast!
I wish I was 80 again. I was dancing and having a good time. I
wouldn't do a thing different than I did. I enjoyed life to the hilt.
I played golf; I went to church, and I danced and sang. I just loved
life. Life is meant to be lived. Live it well.
Greta Heslet certainly
lived life well. In the 1920's, Greta sang with famed jazz conductor
Jean Goldkette and his orchestra. She was also a part of two popular
female singing trios, Three
Shades of Blue, and Wynken Blynken and Nod. She recorded
six record albums, starred in the widely seen short film
“Wildflowers” and was named one of the top
female jazz singers of all time. At
age 102, she was believed
to be the oldest recording artist alive, has had a play written about
her life, and her music is still available on Amazon.com.
At
the end of our interview as Greta
was walking me out, old man was playing the piano in the nursing home
lobby. Greta's face lit up and she asked me to dance with her. Of
course I accepted; How could I refuse such a lady? While we danced
and laughed, other residents sat in wheelchairs, smiling, laughing
and clapping. Though they were no longer able to dance, their faces
were filled with the joy and memories of days gone by. It was a
beautiful sight. That's what Greta did; she filled people with joy.
Thank you for the dance Greta, it was my pleasure.
You can hear Greta sing on
several of her albums at the links below. I promise it will bring a
smile to your face.
Life
is meant to be lived. Live it well.
Greta
Heslet, 102
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