By the family..
Claudia Kent celebrates 100 years of life on Wednesday, September 28, 2016. She attributes her longevity to savoring life; taking daily meds with ice cream and enjoying butter and jam on every bite of toast.
Born in Iowa, she married her high school sweetheart, Clayton Kent, after a particularly amazing double blind date during which she learned she wasn’t with “the other guy.” They lived and loved for 69 ½ years before he was called home in 2009. They had three children, Carter Kent (deceased), Travis Kent of St. Cloud, MN, and K Janelle Adams of Weiser ID, and she currently has 13 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, and 27 great-great-grand-children.
She has a younger sister, Dorothy Adams (87), who she has joined on many road-trips over the years, searching for adventure, food, or just a great bargain!
On Monday the mayor of Weiser, Diane Thomas, gifted her with a “Challenge Coin” to commemorate a life well lived.
She loves to travel and has visited Alaska, Canada, the Holy Land, and lived briefly in Costa Rica. Over her lifetime she worked as a sale clerk, dipped candy at Disneyland, drove a school bus, worked as a post mistress, was a vocalist on the local radio station, managed a horse training school, managed a mortuary, and was a pastor’s wife for many years.
Until a stroke a few months ago, she darted about in a golf cart with plates that read aptly, “Eat my dust!” She also “friended” family and friends in distant places, and enjoyed keeping in touch via email. She taught her oldest granddaughter how to use an ipod, and was reasonably fast on the trigger with a TV remote. When asked to teach her grandchildren how to can, she replied, “Oh, I don’t fiddle with that stuff! It’s much easier to buy a can at the store!”
Currently, she enjoys eating at buffets and being perfectly coifed. Although unable to do much housework, she is adept at reminding those around her of what needs to be done. Her eyes twinkle when you enter her presence, and her excitement at seeing visitors is fun to watch.
When asked recently to say a few words, she replied without hesitation, “Jesus Is All The World To Me…” With that she took her seat, clearly communicating that was “more than enough.”
