105 Reasons To Celebrate A Life Well Lived

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.

← Back

 By Emilie Rumble 

Born on a cold and wintry day, February 25, 1919, on the family farm located one and half miles north of Brashear, Missouri, the daughter of Orville and Ora Patterson was delivered by the family neighbor, Alma Eagle, because the baby girl was in a hurry to arrive, and the doctor was late getting there for the joyous occasion. That baby girl, Verne, grew up to witness many winters to mark her February 25 birthday, with this year making a grand total of 105 reasons to celebrate. 

In high school, Verne helped care for younger school children following her graduation in 1937. 

She married Raymond Marble on June 25, 1938, at Lancaster, Missouri, and together the couple set up housekeeping. Ray and Verne immediately started their family, which grew to four over the coming years. The little family was complete with children, Terry, Nancy, Charlotte, and Tim. Verne was a dedicated homemaker and enjoyed raising her children. She loved being a wife and mother and fulfilled the daily tasks of caring for them by cooking, sewing her children’s clothes, painting, and wallpapering, as well as reading, and being an active member of her church family by teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. 

When Verne, daughter Nancy, and I visited recently, I learned that throughout the years, Verne also cared for her grandchildren, and Nancy said Verne was like a second mom to those grandchildren. When asked how many grandchildren she had, Verne proudly shared that there were seven grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren, and five great-great grandchildren. 

I asked Verne to share what she believed was the reason for living a long life and she held her hand to her heart and said, “Depending on the Lord and giving Him your life when you’re young and staying close to Him.” 

Three Bibles are on the stand next to Verne’s chair, and she reads those three Bibles every day. When asked what her favorite passage of scripture was, Verne replied that the 23rd Psalm gave her great comfort. Then we spoke together of the promise and hope we shared in holding that passage of scripture in our minds and in our hearts. We all agreed that down deep inside we know that the Lord is our Shepherd, and He provides all that we need. That He gives us rest and refreshes our soul, and He walks beside us with each step we take even in our darkest times, and His goodness and love, follows us all the days of our lives and at the end of our earthly journey, we will live in His house forever. 

When asked about the history she has witnessed over these 105 years, with a wide smile on her face, Verne quickly remarked, “Electricity was the greatest thing!” She recalled washing on the scrub board and was thankful for the invention of the washing machine. 

Verne was able to stay in her own home until she was 100 years old and then moved in with daughter, Nancy, until she was 103. It was then that she took residence at Knox County Nursing Home, where she currently resides.