Beulah Sutton stands just under 5 feet tall, with flashing dark eyes and white hair swept off her face. With her 102nd birthday just around the corner on Sunday, Oct. 18, Sutton plans to have a celebration with her son, Dallas A. Sutton Jr., who lives in Felton.
“My son is going to pick me up, and we’re going to have a nice dinner with Chinese food,” Sutton said, settling down on a big, cushiony chair in her modest room at the Oak Tree Villa senior living center.
Directly above hangs a photo of her beautiful 20-year-old self. Sutton’s eyes are still the same dark pools as in her youth.
Born in Saguache, Colo., in 1907, Sutton has lived through two World Wars, many political movements, technological advancements and seven decades of the comic book hero Batman.
A Scotts Valley resident for two years, she moved to Oak Tree Villa from Chico to be closer to her son.
“Looking back, it can be difficult to remember everything,” she said. “But I have no regrets.”
Sutton’s most vivid memory of World War I is the fear that her father would be drafted. “Thankfully, he didn’t have to go,” she said.
She touts Neil Armstrong walk on the moon in 1969 as her most amazing experience to date.
“It was very exciting, I remember watching it on television and enjoying it very much,” she recalled.
An avid reader, she enjoys curling up with a good Danielle Steel book — that is, when she’s not doing her daily exercise routine. Her only vice is her penchant for candy — and, perhaps, indulging in her favorite soap operas, she said.
“Exercise is so important for the heart,” Sutton said matter-of-factly. “It keeps me young and peppy.”
And Sutton’s mental and physical capacities can attest to that. Cane in hand, she trots around her room readily pointing out different photos and artwork dear to her heart.
“This photo was taken here at Oak Tree when I turned 100,” she said, pointing to a framed photo of balloons in every color on her wall. “They strung 100 balloons for me, one for every year of my life.”
Her favorite memories are of times with her husband, Dr. Dallas Sutton, who died in 2006 at age 94. Sutton, who still wears her wedding band firmly around her finger, showed off many photos of him, her son and her two grandchildren.
Her greatest accomplishment to date, besides marrying her one true love, she said, is earning her degree in biology at the University of Denver and then teaching elementary school for six years.
“I’ve had a wonderful and enjoyable life,” she said. “I can’t complain. I wouldn’t mind living it over again.”
After celebrating more birthdays than most, Sutton doesn’t want any presents this year.
“I just want time with my son and daughter-in-law,” she said. “Everyone made a fuss when I turned 100; they never thought I’d make it to 102.”
Editors Note: This story was edited for content in the online edition.
