Celebrating 109 years

Local woman finds strength in faith, family and service

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

Living to 100 is a major milestone.

A Midwest City woman achieved that nearly a decade ago. And is showing no signs of slowing down.

Lois Wooten celebrated her 109th birthday with her large family last week.

Wooten was born May 5, 1914, in Floyd, Texas where she lived with her mother and father, Glen and Nora Nolen, and her younger sister Louise. She has fond memories of riding in a horse drawn buggy as a young child, and even learned to drive at the age of 12.

“You had to hand crank it to start it,” she said.

As a young adult Wooten left home to attend beauty school in Dallas but got homesick. She went to work at a pants factory in Greenville, Texas where she met the love of her life, Ernest Wooten. They were married in 1939, and had a daughter named Linda (Forester) after losing a set of twins who were stillborn.

“We’d be looking right at each other when we were working and I’d always smile,” she said. “I guess that’s what got him.”

In 1947 the family moved to Oklahoma when Ernest got a job as a firefighter at Tinker Air Force Base. Her younger sister even married her husband’s younger brother Roy “Pete” who moved here too to become a firefighter at Tinker.

Wooten purchased a home in Del City in 1950, and shortly thereafter Lois started working at Kerr Junior High School, now Del City Middle School. She was the cafeteria manager for 25 years. Her cinnamon rolls were a hit.

“I enjoyed that work and that was when we made all of the food by scratch,” she said.

When she retired, she picked up art. She enjoyed painting and making greeting cards for family and friends. She can no longer paint or draw due to macular degeneration.

“People seemed to like the cards and I’ve always enjoyed doing it,” she said.

Wooten lost her husband in 1997 and lived independently for years. She enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren and volunteering at church. She taught Sunday school for many years.

She embraced technology and bought a computer when she was 90 and used an iPhone for many years.

“She came from no phone to an iPhone,” her daughter Linda said.

When asked what the secret is to a long life, Wooten laughs that she likes to say that it’s thanks to all the Kentucky Fried Chicken and Twinkies she has eaten over the years. She doesn’t drink or smoke and credits her strong faith in God.

“You could say I’ve had a wonderful life and I enjoy doing things for others,” she said.

Wooten moved in with her daughter Linda in 2020. She attends Meadowood Baptist Church.

“They all gave me a standing ovation and sang happy birthday to me,” she said. “And you can’t get much better than that.”

Lois has one daughter, two grandchildren, and several great and great, great grandchildren.