'I sure have seen a lot,' Visalia woman celebrates 100 years

Lorene Porter, surrounded by generations of family members, celebrated an incredible milestone this month at First Baptist Church.

Dressed in a floral pink top accompanied by a pearl necklace, Lorene posed for a few photos in front of a large cake with “Happy 100th Birthday Lorene” carefully written across the top in icing.

“There were all of these pictures from the time I was young until now on the table,” Lorene said, describing the celebration. “I brought them back here (a Tulare assisted living facility) because the girls that work here like looking at ‘em.”

Lorene was born in Conway Springs, Kansas on May 1, 1922, into a family of 10 children. As a child, she was sent to live with another family in exchange for room and board because her family couldn’t afford to feed everyone.

She was a teenager when World War II hit.

Shortly after the war began, Lorene moved to California to chase who would ultimately become her husband, Francis Porter. They had a three-month fling in Kansas before Francis – who Lorene described as a hard-working, good Christian man – left for the Golden State.

While they were separated by more than 1,000 miles, the two kept in contact by writing letters to each other.

“In December, he came back to Kansas and we started dating again,” Lorene said. “He asked me to marry him and come with him to California.”

And so, she did. The couple lived in Los Angeles, while a few family members were living throughout portions of Central California, including Lindsay and Tulare.

“During the war, she had to save and scrounge as many rations as possible so that she could trade them for gas rations in order to drive up north to visit family here in Tulare County,” said Lorene’s great-granddaughter Marisa Martin. “To this day, my great-grandma still hates going up the Grapevine because her entire life cars would overheat on that steep grade.”

Lorene gave birth to her only child, LaVon, in Los Angeles in 1943, and after a few years, the small family of three packed up and moved to Tulare where she lived for more than 50 years, well into her 80s.

She soon took a job during the day working as an aide at a Tulare hospital, while at night, Lorene was taking courses at College of the Sequoias. Lorene worked as a nurse for 32 years.

She explained how seeing her children succeed throughout life and having families of their own was rewarding to her.

“Getting ready for the wedding of my grandchild,” Lorene said, “those are probably the happiest times of my life.”

Lorene’s first grandson was born in 1964, followed by her first great-grandchild in 1996. Her other two great-granddaughters were born in 1997 and 2000.

“Considering she was from a nuclear family of 12,” Martin said, “she ultimately had a small, tight-knit family for the rest of her life.”

Francis died on Nov. 1, 2011, after being married to Lorene for nearly 70 years.

Lorene still loves attending church, though she usually watches from the comfort of her home on her television; however, if it were up to her, she would still be going in person.

To celebrate Mother’s Day this week, Martin is taking Lorene out for lunch Sunday, followed by a trip to the cemetery.

“I sure have seen a lot,” Lorene said, reminiscing about her life. “God has been good to me.”

Lauren Jennings covers education and news for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. Follow her on Twitter @lolojennings. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Visalia's Lorene Porter celebrates 100th birthday