Cool Person of the Week

(For those of you who have asked -- yes, I know I posted the Monday post on Tuesday. I was running late.)

Last week I called this “Ode to my friends”. I decided to change that just to highlight cool people I know that others should know ABOUT at the very least. Some are my dear friends, others just cool people whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

Meet my friend: Lillie Tucker

Ask Lillie Tucker how she feels about being “older than Oklahoma ,” and she laughs.

“I’m still just a kid,” said Mrs. Tucker, who turned 102 years old on Sept. 15.

A resident at Grace Living Center – Del City , Mrs. Tucker likes to laugh, saying it keeps her young.

She celebrated her birthday with cake, music, a clown and some friends.

Born Lillie Hensley on a farm near McCloud on Sept. 15, 1904, she likes to talk fondly of her life, her family and friends.

Growing up on a farm meant hard work, but there was always time for some fun.

“We had a team of mules that would take us places,” Mrs. Tucker said. “I liked those mules and used to challenge anyone that would try to hurt them. I think sometimes I liked them better than some people,” she added, laughing again.

She and her future husband, U.T. “Tuck” Tucker grew up together, playing at school and attending church together.

“I think I always knew him, we kind of grew up together and were friends,” Mrs. Tucker said.

The couple tried farming before they moved to town where she was a homemaker and Tuck was a mechanic.

She and Tuck would spend their summers camping, and after Tuck retired the two traveled all over the country in their van.

“I met them in the late 1950s and I think they were old then,” said Joy Scott, 83, teasing her friend, who is nearly 20 years her senior. Scott and Mary Chesser, both friends from Free Will Methodist Church in Midwest City visit Mrs. Tucker often.

Mrs. Scott said the Tuckers were always one of the nicest couples she had ever met. Mrs. Tucker loved to grow a large garden and stayed busy with church activities.

“It was fun, just kept me out of trouble,” Mrs. Tucker said. Asked what her secret was for living to be 102 years old, she said, “Tend to your own business and leave others alone.”

Then she laughed again.