Martha Parrish Turns 100 Year Old

Martha Parrish is officially the town’s oldest resident (although she months ago moved to Morton). She had her birthday party in town March 2nd and friends came to celebrate.

Here’s a bio from her granddaughter Leslee Dunlap:

Martha was born in the Eatonville’s first hospital (the house at the north end of Mashel Ave., across from the school) in Eatonville on Feb 25, 1913.

She was raised on her parent’s dairy and poultry farm in the Ohop Valley at the Eatonville end of Ohop Lake.  Her parents were William and Elizabeth (Muery) Breuer, who moved to Eatonville around 1908, from the vicinity of Austin, Texas, after a brief stay in California.  She thinks the previous owner of the farm was Smith.

Martha graduated from Eatonville in 1931. She married an Ohop Valley neighbor, Preston Parrish, in 1935.  They raised their three children, Donna, Florence and Ray in Eatonville (and their children did the same). She was active in the community and was one of the founders of the Dogwood Garden Club and was the club’s first president. Vera Byrd (pictured) was also a charter member of the club).

Martha’s husband, Preston, passed away in 1971. She worked for a while at the Eatonville Community Center and attended many of the community meals there. She was an accomplished painter and enjoyed traveling. She spent a few months in the Philippines with Margaret and Bruce Painter, toured Australia, Fiji and New Zealand, vacationed with her husband in Hawaii and traveled by car around the US many times. She moved from Eatonville to Morton after living independently in Eatonville for 99½ years.”

Photo courtesy of Leslee Dunlap.

Click on image to enlarge.