Dorothy Wilson

Dorothy Stewart was born January 18, 1914, to Fred and Anna Stewart of Muskogee Oklahoma. By her accounts, Dorothy had a normal childhood, attending school and playing with her two brothers, Paul and Fred. “I was the only girl and I never let anybody forget it either.” After graduating high school, Dorothy went to work at the local drugstore and on November 14, 1932 she married Merle Wilson at the age of 18. Together they had three children, Don, Nancy and Mike. Dorothy later took a job with Sears Roebuck, where she continued to work for many years.   In 1965 her husband, Merle, died after thirty three years of marriage.

It sounds like you raised a good family. What was your secret?

It all starts with the parents. When Merle and I got married, we married for love, but once we were married it was just work, work, work. We were so busy, it never occurred to us to get a divorce. We didn't quarrel a lot, but I could tell when he was mad. We would fight, then kiss and make up. We always tried to work things out between us; I think that's important. You've got to be willing to compromise and work things out. I wasn't much for blasting anybody with a bunch of words when I got mad, so I didn't have a lot to be pardoned for later on.

As far as the kids go, my parents weren't overly strict and I wasn't either. We raised 3 great kids together. We loved them and treated them all the same. We went to church, they never drank or caused any trouble....at least none that I know of! If they had ended up in prison I would've disowned them!

When the war (WWII) broke out, Merle joined the Navy and went to the South Pacific and so I had to do everything without his being there. That was a tough one. I had to take care of the house and the kids and I was working full time. I was more or less a single parent. But as the war was ending, they started sending the men with families home, and that was a good step for me 'cause Merle came home after that. They all went on to have good lives and good families. I'm proud of my kids and I'm thankful that they're still around. They're getting up there in age too, but they're all healthy.

What's it like getting old?

I never thought about growing old, all of a sudden when I got to be about 95 I thought “I'm old!” But I feel very fortunate. I am pretty healthy, I have my memory, I have my family and I am really blessed by the Lord that I can still get around. I've always been independent. I try to stay positive. There's people that you're afraid to ask how they are because they're always grumblin' about something. I don't want to be like that. I think your attitude is everything.

What's your best piece of advice?

Think of other people and not just yourself. Have respect for other people and try to help them.

What was the one thing that caused you the most trouble in your life?

Tryin' to help other people (laughing)! Relatives that were out looking for a job and a place to live probably caused me the most problems, 'cause we'd take 'em in. We didn't have room for 'em but we'd take 'em in. That's just the way people were when I was growing up. You wouldn't turn a relative away. If someone needed something and they couldn't help themselves, we'd do what we could to help, but if they can help themselves it's important to let them do it themselves, otherwise they'll just keep comin' back askin' for more and more. Some people need to learn to grow up and take responsibility.

Do you have any regrets?

Looking back, life goes by fast. You'd better live it while you can. I've led a plain vanilla life.
Marriage, work, kids; God has played an important part in my life too. He watches over me all the time. He's helped with my problems and all.... but there's nothing I would do different.

Do you ever think about dying?

I don't think about dying much. I'm not afraid of it, but there's nothing I can do to head it off. I don't want to go.... but I will. There's nothing I can do about it, so why worry about it? Instead I try to think about living. Life is all about living, and I'm happy for every day I get.

The above photo of Dorothy Wilson perfectly captures the kind of person she was, full of life, laughter and love. Every time I look at that picture, I can't help but smile as I think about the day I met her. Even today,  four years after her death, she makes me smile. Hopefully, one day we will all leave the same amount of joy and laughter in the lives others. God bless you Dorothy.... and thanks for the laughs.  

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