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 a phase in the process of publishing where galley proofs are compared against the original manuscripts or graphic artworks, to identify transcription errors in the typesetting process. In the past, proofreaders would place co ...

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

Early life

Stubbart was born Audrey Morford in

Newman Grove, Nebraska Newman Grove is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, Madison and Platte County, Nebraska, Platte counties in Nebraska, United States. The population was 667 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Madison County portion of Newman Gro ...

."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: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

reservation and could recount early experiences of encountering

Sioux Indians The Lakota (; or ) are a Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux (from ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western Dakota (). Their current lands are in ...

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 * Gordon Heuck ...

, 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 ...

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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

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 Community of Christ, known legally and 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 ...

, 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 a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...

, 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. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

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 of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

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 members of the Community of Christ People from Newman Grove, Nebraska People from Gordon, Nebraska People from Mills County, Iowa American women centenarians