Savvy Seniors: Ruth Marie Jackson ready to celebrate 100
Ruth Marie Jackson is 100 years old today. Talking with her as she sits in her chair at Hennis Care Center in New Philadelphia, one would guess she were half that age. She has resided there for two years, necessitated by two hip replacements after she fell and broke, first one hip, and then while recuperating, the other.
Before her move, at 98, Ruth kept her own house and drove. She misses being able to drive, something that came into her life as a matter of necessity when left a widow with four children at 35. She took Driver’s Education in order to use the family car to take her children to their various activities.
“I learned to drive a stick shift,” she said, “and would you believe I had the same teacher that my daughter had when she was in high school? I was the neighborhood taxi after that. Giving up driving takes away your independence.”
Born the second of six children to Tom and Anna Ruth Davis Lowry, in LaVerne, Alabama, Ruth grew up on a sharecropper’s farm, and attended a one-room schoolhouse. She lost her father when she was 4, but longevity runs in the family as her mother lived into her late 90s, sister Kate is 102, and her other siblings, twin sisters Minnie and Ann, and sister, Cumi , are in their 90s. A brother, Abraham, is deceased.
“We were a very close family,” Ruth said. “Our parents were strict. We were not allowed to dance, but we did get to attend movies. We had a large garden, and survived the Great Depression, and all the pandemics of Polio, Asian Flu, AIDS, Swine Flu, Ebola, the Zika Virus and now COVID 19.
In 1939, 18-year-old Ruth left the family to come to this area to care for her ailing grandparents, Oliver Grant and Fronnie “Big Ma” Lowry. She lived with them and has been a resident of Dennison for 82 years. During that time, she worked at Timken Roller Bearing during WWII, then at South District Court as a receptionist, at Tappan Lake Marina, and retired from Nichols Discount store after 16 years. She also took night classes at Uhrichsville High School and at Union College of Commerce.
Ruth met her husband, Stewart Jackson, while visiting a cousin in Uhrichsville. The couple had four children, Kay, Sheila, Dr. David, and Jimmy Jackson. When Stewart died at 38, Ruth was left with four children under the age of 12, one of which — Jimmy — had Cerebral Palsy. He died at age 16.
Son, David, of Long Beach, California, said, “She worked so hard raising us to be successful citizens. It is all due to her that we are where we are today.”
Ruth added, “Our door was always open to the neighborhood children. We knew our children’s friends.”
Today, there are six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
“Things have changed so much,” Ruth said. “We were taught to treat people the way you would want to be treated, and to never think more of yourself than you really are. Today’s world is so full of anger and bitterness. I believe I have lived through all of this with prayer and faith. I was a member of Grant St. Methodist Church in Dennison for 42 years. I sang in the choir and participated in the missions. Now I belong to Uhrichsville First Methodist.
“Another thing we were taught was that wherever you end up being placed, you need to be contented. I didn’t want to leave my home, but I didn’t want to be a burden to my family, so this is where I am. I fill my days with things I like to do. I start my mornings with prayer and a bible reading, the 23rd Psalm is my favorite, take a walk, and write in my daily journal to plan my day. We have Bingo and crafts, the food is outstanding, and I have made many friends. I am content.”
Ruth’s family is holding her 100th birthday celebration at Deis Hill. They will all be there. She is excited to see everyone. What more could one want? We wish her the best possible 100th birthday, with blessings and love, and more years of contentment.