Aging with humor and grace

If there’s a secret to a long and fulfilling life, Jean Collins, Grace Hubbard, and Maxine Houghton might say it’s staying active, staying positive – and never passing up a good party.

The three La Conner Retirement Inn residents, all over 100 years old, continue to live with purpose and humor, offering living proof that age is no barrier to joy.

“It’s fun to be old, when you’re feeling good.”

Maxine Houghton

Collins, who turned 103 on July 21, celebrated her birthday the same way she has for the past 23 years — camping with family along the Skagit River.

“It’s something we started doing for my 80th birthday,” said Collins, who moved into the Inn six months ago.

Before that, she lived in Shelter Bay and walked laps at the La Conner High School track well into her 90s, showing what it means to take aging in stride. 

She shares the “100-plus” club at the Inn with Hubbard, 101, and Houghton, who turned 100 in May.

Houghton marked her milestone in style, riding La Conner’s vintage 1941 fire engine from the Inn to a party in Shelter Bay.

“It’s fun to be old,” Houghton quipped, “when you’re feeling good.”

Known for her sense of humor and love of music, Houghton has become a regular at the Inn’s musical events. She even took up dancing after moving in.

“She really likes music,” said Life Enrichment Director Allie Kester. “She had never danced before she got here. She ended up dancing one day and did really well.”

Last Friday Houghton took in a Classic 60s concert at the Inn performed by local musicians David Lee Howard and Jim Matthews.

Hubbard, born Nov. 11, 1923 — Armistice Day, which marked the end of World War I —has long promoted peace. She became active in the La Conner-area peace movement in the 1980s and helped lead efforts to link La Conner with the Soviet town of Olga as sister cities. She also supported declaring Skagit County a nuclear-free zone.

“So much of my life,” Hubbard said, “has been involved with peace projects.”

She continues to live with energy and independence. Hubbard recently renewed her driver’s license for another six years and often drives her Toyota Avalon around town. She said she was pleased when the La Conner Town Council passed a nuclear disarmament resolution in April.

All three women enjoyed long marriages. Collins was married to her husband, Frank, for 69 years before his passing in 2015. Hubbard’s husband, Jack, a World War II pilot with the famed “Mighty Eighth” air force, died at 99 after 74 years of marriage. Houghton was married to Harry for 82 years. He lived to be 100.

“Maxine’s husband, Harry, whose picture is on our Honor Roll, passed away at 100,” Kester said. “We threw a big 80-year anniversary party for them here.”

For Collins, a former Seattle Public Schools employee, the Retirement Inn feels like home.

“I’ve heard her say that she wishes she had moved here sooner,” Kester said.

Kester, who works closely with the women, calls them her inspiration.

“This is my family,” she said. “I feel like I’m home when I’m here.”

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Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter who covers Town government, schools, and spot news.