Gladys Tharp to celebrate a century

Gladys Tharp of Grant will be celebrating her 100th birthday next week on Monday, April 13th.

Tharp is currently residing at Westview Retirement Community, and is unsure on how she will be celebrating in these uncertain times, but she is glad nonetheless to be alive today.

Tharp is described by her daughter Dee Ann as very well-liked and community-minded.

“She has always been such a pleasant person,” Dee Ann said. “I very much enjoy going and visiting her, she’s so happy. She is a very upbeat, unique-minded person. She is loved by everybody who knows her.”

Though she was born on a farm in Imperial, Gladys went to grade school and high school in Grant. The fall after her graduation, she married Charles Tharp.

They had four children together. Their first children were twins, Dee Ann and Deanna born in 1940. Eight  years later she had her son Kenton in 1948. Her last child, daughter Charlene, was born in 1950. Now, her four children have given her many grandchildren.

Tharp was a beauty operator and cosmotologist until she got married. She then helped run Tharp’s Drive-In, and Tharp’s Annual Machinery Sale where she worked in the office and her husband was an auctioneer.

Charles passed away in 2004 of natural causes, and about five years later, Tharp moved into Westview where she has lived for the last ten years.

“We had a good life,” Tharp said, thinking back on her time with her husband and children.

Dee Ann, reflecting on the time she has spent with her mother, said her fondest memories of her mother throughout her life are just sitting and chatting with her.

“She’s just so full of knowledge, she’s kind and she never treated anybody poorly,” Dee Ann noted. “I’ve learned a lot from her.”

When asked her secret to a long and fullfilling life, Tharp replied that her faith and believing God is her Lord and Savior is her biggest secret for happiness. She has attended Grant United Methodist Church throughout her life to keep her faith strong.

Dee Ann believes that along with her mother’s faith, the fact that Tharp never drank or smoked, and she has always taken good care of her health has helped her live to see triple digits.

The thing Tharp has enjoyed most about her 100 years of life is her family.

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