*This high school photo of Beatty was taken in 1937.*

*John Woodrow Palmer and Beatty were married April 7, 1938.*

*Beatty (right) with good friend, Mary Ann Hayes, during Beatty’s 100th birthday party last year at First Church of the Nazarene.*

Famed author, Robert Louis Stevenson once said, “There is only one difference between a long life and a good dinner: that, in the dinner, the sweets come last.”

Elizabeth Beatty Morris Palmer would absolutely agree with Mr. Stevenson. Having celebrated her 101st birthday on February 22 and enjoying much laughter and goodness, Beatty is certain her life is filled with “sweets.” Beatty was born to John and Hattie Morris at their home on Hazel Street in Texarkana, Texas. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon in 1919 when their 10-1/4 pound baby was born. Her father was so proud that his daughter and only child, was born on George Washington’s birthday. Considering himself a patriotic man, and a devout Episcopalian, he was “grateful to God” for his healthy daughter.

When Beatty was 4, her parents bought a home in Rosehill. Beatty grew up there and remembers playing in the yard with friends, staying cool under the tree in an empty lot, lying in the dirt gutter when it rained, getting rolled down the street in an old tire, and riding her “engine” (a milk can attached to a 6-inch 2x4).

“I never really had any toys,” Beatty recalls. “No one did. We just played with what we had ... it was a very happy childhood.” Beatty and her friends played outside every day, regardless of the weather, from sunup to sundown. “We knew to head home when the streetlight came on.”

Even though the grip of the Great Depression was experienced throughout the United States, Beatty never really felt the pinch. “We didn’t have much, but Daddy always had a job.” Beatty remembers putting cardboard in her shoes when they wore out “but everybody did that. I didn’t feel we had less.” Supplementing with Mother’s garden, they never went hungry. “But I do remember eating a lot of beans.”

When Beatty was 6, her home got indoor plumbing. Until then, they bathed in the kitchen, using P&G soap in a #3 washtub filled with stove-warmed water. Also, indoor plumbing meant no longer needing the outhouse or hearing the “Hoo Hoo Wagon” come down the back alley at night to “service” it.

Telephones were also a sign of newer conveniences. Beatty doesn’t remember ever being without a telephone, but her family was the only household in the neighborhood with one. “Many times, when the phone rang, it wasn’t for us,” explains Beatty. “My job was to sit on the porch and holler out to the neighbors if they had a call.”

After a rough start at Whitaker Elementary (which included a distraught 7-year-old Beatty running away from school and refusing to return), she attended Rosehill Elementary. “I had lots of good teachers. One of them, named Mrs. Williams, read the Bible to us every morning. One day she read the Easter story, and her voice cracked. I knew it meant something to her, and I knew she loved Jesus.”

Other religious guidance came from her father. After supper, her father listened to his favorite radio programs, then listened to the news. “At 10 p.m, Daddy switched off the radio, read a chapter in the Bible, knelt at his chair to pray, and then went to bed.” Beatty’s father never asked his daughter to join this nightly ritual. “Although we never really went to church, my daddy made an impression on me,” explains Beatty.

Another man that made a lasting impression on Beatty was John Woodrow Palmer. He was a handsome 19-year-old that had moved near Beatty. She was 16 and hadn’t dated before she met John. He asked her out for a date for two weeks later. “He needed to wait for a paycheck,” explains Beatty, “and he bought a new suit. We walked to the Paramount Theater (now the Perot) and watched a movie ... then he bought me a Coke.” They waited until Beatty graduated from high school before they married in 1938. John was the love of Beatty’s life.

*Two years ago, Beatty attended the wedding her great-granddaughter, Meg Harris, and her husband, Cliff.*

On October 16, 1941, Beatty and John welcomed a baby girl, Elizabeth Ann Palmer, to their family. She was born at Michael Meagher Hospital on the Arkansas side. Just two months later, while John was carrying a radio and Beatty was holding Ann, they heard the announcement that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. The couple was startled but did not realize the devastation nor the impact of that day.

While Ann was still young, the couple felt they were missing something. “We began attending The First Church of the Nazarene,” states Beatty. “Church became our social life, and the people there supplied every need of my heart. This was after the war, and churches were full then,” recalls Beatty. Her attendance led Beatty to have deeper religious convictions.

After Ann went to school, Beatty was offered a job as a bookkeeper at various places in Texarkana, including with accountant Paul Guillot, Jr. He eventually purchased a personal computer for the business. “This was in the early ’80s, and he spent a lot of time reading the manual, often kicking the cabinet in frustration. That manual wasn’t written for a beginner,” laughs Beatty.

Originally hesitant to use the computer, Beatty was asked to use it for payroll. “Later, I would close the door to my office, sit down, and play with that computer until I could figure out income taxes.” Over time, Beatty built her confidence and became better and better. This confidence in technology led Beatty to never be afraid of it. “When my grandchildren gave me an iPad a few years ago, I was so excited!”

Despite losing her dear husband to heart troubles in 1978, and her father dying in a car accident, she has kept her positive attitude. Beatty has lived during Prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II, the Vietnam War, the moon landing, the Cold War, the falling of the Berlin Wall, Y2K, 9/11, the Iraq War, social media, Google, H1N1, and now COVID-19. She has her daughter, Ann, and son-in-law, Ronny, that currently live with her, who help in so many ways. She has two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, in addition to nieces near and far and close friends. They all continue to get together and play games and share in helping Beatty get to her doctor’s appointments and other errands.

When asked how she has remained healthy for so long, she is quick to respond. “I was raised in a happy family that laughed a lot. I have learned to trust the Lord in all things. I pray when things look bad, and I wake up expecting good things. I know everything’s going to be alright.”

Beatty firmly believes this happy attitude (along with never drinking alcohol or smoking) is what helped her lead such a long full life. “Years ago, I read a quote that says, ‘Laughter is a gift from God; it is the very essence of joy.’ That is how I’ve lived,” explains Beatty.

Beatty Palmer has had a long time to enjoy a life full of laughter, love, joy, friendship, and a positive attitude. She is a perfect example of how you make a long life very sweet.

*Beatty and John had one daughter, Ann, who currently lives with Beatty.*

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Always Living Life With a Positive Attitude