Local lady spends 100 years living for Christ
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
If one were to pull up in the driveway of a particular residence off of Enos Road, they would be greeted by a cute little house with a quaint front porch. They would also be greeted by Jessie Thompson, the little elderly resident of the tiny house. She always invites her guests in with a warm smile.
Thompson was born Jessie Loretta Cobb on January 20, 1914 in Yell County, Arkansas. Yes, the math is correct — she is 105-years-old. Yell County can be converted to modern day Dardanelles and Danville. She moved to Oklahoma with her family as a child and has not ventured outside of the state much in her century-spanned life. In 1931, when Thompson was a Cobb, she met and married the man who would give her the last name she would use for more than 88 years. His family had a subscription to the Madill Record when they married, and she continues that to this day — meaning she has been a subscriber for 88 years.
Thompson said she is thankful for her subscription because it is what she relies on to keep up to date on her beloved town, Kingston, as she is completely deaf. Through the help of her great-granddaughter Jennifer Laird, the lady centenarian was able to tell her story.
The beginning of
a love story
Approximately 80 years ago, Thompson, and the man with whom she shared almost 64 years of marriage, built the house in which she currently resides. During those years, they welcomed one daughter, three grandchildren, and a slew of fourth, fifth and sixth generations.
Thompson said her and Mr. Thompson began preaching at the Pentecostal Holiness Church in Shay in 1940. She talked about a time some visitors came by.
“They called Sam ‘Sammy’ because of an uncle being called Sam,” she said. “And they would call me Mrs. Sammy. I told them Sam’s the pastor, and I’m the pest,” Thompson said with a tiny laugh.
Thompson may be small in stature, but her smile can fill up the entire living room.
Before her beloved husband passed away in 1994, they had blueberry and raspberry bushes, along with various vegetables and flowers, that they would sell. Because times were different in those days, neighbors would stop, pick what they wanted, then leave the money for the items on the picnic table in their front yard.
When she has trouble remembering a certain date — or thinks she is having trouble remembering, she is actually sharp as a tack — she looks through one of her bibles where she keeps certain mementos like obituaries or cards.
“Blueberries
saved my life”
Laird said certain things will happen that will jog her memory about an event from many years ago, and she loves hearing new stories from her greatgrandmother. Just recently, Laird took Thompson to Wild Berry Farm in Whitesboro, Texas, and the centenarian told her great-granddaughter about a story from her childhood involving blueberries.
Thompson had typhoid fever — a disease that stems from contaminated water or food — and her father worried about her not making it. He went to the doctor and was told to boil down some blueberries and strain the seeds out really well. Due to the fever, Thompson’s stomach lining was thin, and the smallest blueberry seed could kill her. So, her father followed the doctor’s orders, and she was cured. “Blueberries saved my life,” Thompson said.
Even though Thompson is over the age of 100, that does not mean she has stopped living. When Laird took her great grandmother blueberry picking, Laird said she assumed that Thompson would enjoy the outing, but prefer to sit under the shade.
However, when Laird asked if Thompson would like to pick some blueberries, she responded, “Well, bless my soul, I would love to.”
Laird said she picked two rows of blueberries before she got winded and had to take a rest.
Regrets and
looking back
Even though Laird and other family members look at Thompson’s life in awe, the great-grandmother said she has regrets and believes they are her downfall.
“When Sam passed, I quit preaching at the church,” Thompson said in a hushed, sad tone. “I could’ve got Sam’s brother Monroe to take over until we got another pastor, that’s my downfall.”
However, Thompson was dealing with her own personal medical issues that prohibited her from being as active in the church as she had been in the past.
Family, and
making it alone
Thompson has lived on her own since her husband died 25 years ago. She gets assistance from family members like Laird, and a Home Care Attendant named DeeDee who has worked for Thompson for almost six years. DeeDee said she does some of the housework that Thompson has issues doing.
However, DeeDee was recently on a three-week vacation, and Thompson took care of herself. DeeDee said Thompson treats her like family, and when she returned from vacation, it was like returning home. “She was laying down when I walked in, and she just smiled so big.”
DeeDee said that Thompson began patting her face, telling her how much she missed her.
Thompson’s daughter Mary Alice Page currently lives in a nursing home due to medical issues. This makes it rough on both Thompson and Page, as they have an extremely close mother-daughter bond. Since neither Thompson nor Page can get around like they used to, their visits are not as frequent as they would like.
Thompson, who is known lovingly as “Sister Jessie” by her friends, family and the community, said she has been blessed abundantly. “I have so many friends. When we went to my birthday last year, the place was full.”
With a smile on her cheeks and a gleam in her eye, Thompson attributes her full and long life to only one.
“Jesus,” Thompson said in the tone of giving the congregation a sermon, “without him, this would not be possible. I am nothing without Him.”