Staunton recognizes three residents who recently turned 100
STAUNTON — Sitting at a table in the dining room at Staunton's Brookdale Senior Living Friday evening, John Hodges began to smile when someone asked him about his first job.
He was born in Franklin County, Aug. 25, 1923. Farming and factory work were two of the largest employers of the time. Hodges was born into one of them and eventually took a job with the other.
"I grew up on a farm," Hodges said. "I had a job as soon as I could get out in the fields."
The first job he had off the farm was at Bassett Furniture Company, one of the largest wood-furniture makers in the world during the mid-20th century. He joined the company four days before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Hodges said it was two or three months later that the plant had to lay off many employees, including him, because of a shortage of materials.
From there he began working in shipyards, first in Newport News, then in Baltimore. He decided to return home and joined the United States Army in February 1943. He served nearly three years.
When asked for his happiest memory, Hodges said, "When my wife said 'I do.'" That was in December, 1946. He and his wife, Kathryn, were married for 67 years.
Now, Hodges lives in Staunton at Brookdale. This past August he celebrated his 100th birthday. The interesting part of that is, two other residents of Brookdale also recently turned 100 years old. Ten days before Hodges celebrated his birthday, Dave Firebaugh became a centenarian. And, this past January, Ruth Gibson joined the two in marking her 100th birthday.
Staunton council member Michele Edwards organized a celebration for the three, complete with official recognition from city council. Edwards got the idea about a year ago when she met a woman who was 98.
"I started thinking about all the folks who are aging in our community and we do have an aging population," Edwards said. "And how important and valuable their lives are and their stories are. They need to be recognized. That seed germinated in my mind and I just kept thinking that I wanted to do this, recognize 100-year-olds."
Edwards got the rest of council on board. Now, she said any member of council can officially recognize someone who turns 100. She urged the community to let council know if someone is about to hit the milestone.
"I am thrilled to be able to do this," Edwards said. She even got Staunton Chief of Police Jim Williams involved. He presented each of the three a challenge coin, something normally reserved for police officers who do something exceptional. In this case, Williams said each of the three Brookdale residents had lived exceptional lives.
Gibson was born Jan. 4, 1924. She met the man who would eventually be her husband in junior high and they were married for 69 years, have three children, seven grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.
"This is very special," said her son John. "I think she holds the record in our family for making it to this milestone. It's really quite amazing."
Gibson is from Rhode Island. While her husband was serving in the military, Gibson was a secretary. Once the couple had a family, Gibson decided to stay at home and raise her children. The eventually moved to Connecticut. For five years, Gibson lived in Belgium when her husband got a job there.
Gibson said she isn't used to a lot of attention, but she was enjoying the birthday celebration Brookdale was holding.
"It is fun," Gibson said. "It is a joy."
Meanwhile, Firebaugh was born Aug. 15, 1923 in Baltimore. When Firebaugh was 9, his father was killed in a car crash and Firebaugh moved to Virginia to live with his grandparents.
At 19, he joined the United States Navy as a seaman recruit, the lowest enlisted rank. He came out 30 years later as a lieutenant commander, retiring as commanding officer of the reserve center at Mare Island.
Firebaugh served in the United States Navy for 30 years earning the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He served in the South Pacific during WWII.
Firebaugh and Gibson said they never really gave much though to one day turning 100. Hodges, on the other hand, did think about it.
About 13 years ago, two of Hodges' doctors said he had a good chance to live to be 100. He told them he actually planned to live to be 103.
"I was 23 when I got married," he said. "If I live to be 103 that will be 80 years. It may not be a record, but that's pretty good."
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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton recognizes three residents who recently turned 100
