Audrey Stubbart (June 9, 1895
- November 13, 2000''A study in graceful aging'' by Kara Childers, ''The Examiner'',March 15, 2003
) was an American

proofreader Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication. Professional Traditional m ...

and

newspaper columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

for ''

The Independence Examiner ''The Examiner'' is the daily newspaper of eastern Jackson County, Missouri, including Independence, Blue Springs and Grain Valley. It is published five days a week – Tuesday through Saturday – and its webpage is at www.examiner.net. ''Th ...

'' until the age of 105.''What counts? Heart, and Joy'' by Audrey Stubbart, April 30, 1998, ''The Examiner'' (probably her last)
Prior to her death she was the oldest verified newspaper columnist, the oldest known full-time employee,''The life of Audrey Stubbart'', ''The Examiner'',March 27, 2002
and possibly the oldest user of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

Early life

Stubbart was born Audrey Morford in

Newman Grove, Nebraska Newman Grove is a city in Madison and Platte counties in Nebraska, United States. The population was 721 at the 2010 census. The Madison County portion of Newman Grove is part of the Norfolk, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. History ...

."Audry Stubbart, 100 A Working Woman Always on the Job", From a U.S. News & World Report article
She was the second of five siblings, but with the death of her eldest sibling shortly after birth, Audrey became the oldest. She spent her early life in Newman Grove, Nebraska, close to an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

reservation and could recount early experiences of encountering Sioux Indians in the decades following the Battle of Wounded Knee. The Morford family moved to

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

, when Audrey was young. Soon afterwards, her father died at the age of 36, leaving his wife and four children destitute. Following his death, she and her mother moved along with her siblings to her uncle's house nearby and then, on his death, to the house of their grandparents in

Malvern, Iowa Malvern is a city in Mills County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,046 at the time of the 2020 census. The Wabash Trace—a railroad converted to a bicycle trail—passes through Malvern. The Mills County Fair is held here, although Gle ...

Personal life

Audrey was married at the age of 15 to a carpenter, John Stubbart, who was five years older than she. Their marriage lasted 54 years. The couple moved to

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

where they had their first child in 1912. They built a log house on the prairie there in 1916, where they lived for the next 28 years. They had two daughters: Enid and Carol; as well as three sons: Veryl, Donald and Kenneth. In June 1964, John suffered a heart attack, and his health apparently failed thereafter. He died at 75 in December 1965. Audrey was highly religious and taught Sunday school for 75 years. A member of the

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

, she detested the former practice of polygamy amongst Utah Mormons, which had only officially ended in 1890, and preached against it just as members of her church had done since its foundation in the 1850s.

Career as a proofreader

In 1944, John and Audrey Stubbart moved to

Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...

, where Audrey found a job as a proofreader with her church's publishing company, ''Herald House'', on the suggestion of her mother-in-law. Audrey recounted that her initial salary was $18 a week. During this time, Audrey's middle son Donald was serving in World War II as a bomber pilot in the Air Corps.''Audrey and Her Family'', a collection of photographs of Audrey Stubbart and her family members, Special Feature, ''The Examiner''
Audrey worked for 18 years with ''Herald House'' until her retirement in 1961. In that same year, she was recruited as a proofreader by ''The Examiner''. She would eventually spend more than three decades there.

Oldest full-time employee

Audrey became a

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

on June 9, 1995, thereby inviting worldwide attention. Calls and letters came in from people around the world wanting to listen to her story. At the age of 100, she was still working 40 hours per week at ''The Examiner''. Three years later, she was honored by the

US Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

for being the oldest full-time employee of any business in the country. Shortly afterwards, at age 103, she wrote what was perhaps her last article for ''The Examiner''. She continued, however, to work in her proofreader's position until August 2000 when she was 105 years and 2 months old.Biography of Audrey Stubbart 1895-2000, Newspaper Woman, Missouri Valley Special Collections
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Age and death

At 88 she visited the Holy Land and rode a camel in Egypt. At 94 she toured England and Scotland. In 1992 at 97 she was Missouri's Older Worker of the Year, chosen as a role model who greatly contributed to her community. As she approached her 101st birthday, she had no plans to retire; her daughter Enid and son-in-law Joe celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary a few days before her 101st birthday. She sang in the choir until she was 102. In May 2000 at 104 she fell at her home. A month later she went directly from the hospital to the Examiner celebration for her 105th birthday. She retired in August. Stubbart died on November 13, 2000, three months after her retirement as proofreader. She was well over 105 years old at that time.

References

External links

* https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14952612 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stubbart, Audrey 1895 births 2000 deaths American centenarians American members of the Community of Christ People from Newman Grove, Nebraska People from Gordon, Nebraska People from Mills County, Iowa Women centenarians