Audrey Stubbart

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Audrey Stubbart (June 9, 1895[1]–November 13, 2000[2][3]) was an American centenarian who worked as a proofreader and newspaper columnist for The Independence Examiner until the age of 105.[4] Prior to her death she was the oldest verified newspaper columnist, the oldest known full-time employee,[5] and possibly the oldest user of the Internet.

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[edit] Early life

Stubbart was born Audrey Morford in Newman Grove, Nebraska.[6] She was the second of five siblings, but with the death of her eldest sibling shortly after birth, Audrey became the oldest.[6] She spent her early life in Newman Grove, Nebraska, close to an Indian reservation and could recount early experiences of encountering Sioux Indians in the decades following the Battle of Wounded Knee.[6]

The Morford family moved to Gordon when Audrey was young. Soon afterwards, her father died at the age of 36 leaving his wife and four children destitute. Following his death, she and her mother moved along with her siblings to her uncle's house nearby and then, on his death, to the house of their grandparents in Malvern, Iowa.[6]

Stubbart was married at the age of 15 to a carpenter, John Stubbart who was five years older than her.[6] The couple moved to Wyoming where they had their first child in 1912.[6] They built a log house on the prairie there in 1916, where they lived for the next 28 years. [6]

Stubbart was highly religious and taught Sunday school for 75 years. Born a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, she detested the former practice of polygamy amongst Utah Mormons, which had only officially ended in 1890, and preached against it just as members of her church had done since its foundation in the 1850s.[6]

[edit] Career as a proofreader

In 1944, John and Audrey Stubbart moved to Independence, Missouri, where Audrey found a job as a proofreader with her church's publishing company, Herald House on the suggestion of her mother-in-law.[6] Audrey recounted that her initial salary was $18 a week.[6] During this time, Audrey's eldest son, Donald, was serving in World War II as a bomber pilot in the Air Corps.[7] Audrey worked for 18 years with Herald House until her retirement in 1961.[6][5] In that same year, she was recruited as a proofreader by The Examiner. She would eventually spend more than three decades there.[1]

[edit] Oldest full-time employee

Audrey became a centenarian on June 9, 1995,[1] thereby inviting worldwide attention. Calls and letters came in from people around the world wanting to listen to her story.[1] At the age of 100, she was still working 40 hours per week at The Examiner.[1] Three years later, she was honored by the US Government for being the oldest full-time employee of any business in the country.[5] Shortly afterwards, at age 103, she wrote what was perhaps her last article for The Examiner.[4] She continued, however, to work in her proofreader's position until August 2000 when she was 105 years and 2 months old.[8]

[edit] Death

Stubbart died on November 13, 2000, three months after her retirement as proof-reader. She was well over 105 years old at that time.[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Audrey Stubbart's Career, A collection of articles on Audrey Stubbart, From the website of The Examiner
  2. ^ A study in graceful aging by Kara Childers, The Examiner,March 15, 2003
  3. ^ a b Obituary of Audrey Stubbart dated November 14, 2000, The Kansas City Public Library
  4. ^ a b What counts? Heart, and Joy by Audrey Stubbart, April 30,1998, The Examiner (probably her last)
  5. ^ a b c The life of Audrey Stubbart, The Examiner,March 27, 2002
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Audry Stubbart, 100 A Working Woman Always on the Job", From an U.S. News & World Report article
  7. ^ Audrey and Her Family, a collection of photographs of Audrey Stubbart and her family members, Special Feature, The Examiner
  8. ^ Biography of Audrey Stubbart 1895-2000, Newspaper Woman, Missouri Valley Special Collections