Centenarian plus six
What do you typically do on your 106th birthday?
Well, if you ask Lucile Chapelle of Woodburn, she would probably say you get up and do something.
Lucile turned 106 on Thursday, Nov. 18, but she decided to celebrate the previous day with a round of bean-bag baseball at her Cascade Park Retirement Community.
"She played bean bag baseball with the residence of Cascade Park, challenging the staff," Cascade Park staff member Penelope Higgins said. "In an unusual turn of events, the staff beat the residents 23 runs to 15.
"Lucile is active also at Wii bowling and a memory game — and is very competitive in whatever she does."
Lucile's daughter, Bonnie Beaty, affirms that her mother has been a very active person throughout her life.
As a Woodburn resident for most of her days, Lucile taught piano and organ, she golfed, joined bowling leagues, oil painted, gardened, enjoyed knitting and crocheting, was a quilter. Her travels took her to Alaska, Hawaii, and two trips to Europe.
Moreover, Lucile served 50 years on the election board for her precinct in Woodburn, she was church organist at the Woodburn Church of God for 60 years, was a counselor for the Camp Fire Girls. She still attends Hoodview Church of God in Woodburn on Sunday mornings.
Lucile graduated from high school in Gordon, Nebraska, then went to Anderson, Indiana to study music and Christian education. She met her husband, Frank (Jim) Chapelle and they were married January 1938 in Nebraska where they lived a short time before moving to Woodburn. Jim was employed at the post office until he retired in the early 1970s.
The Chapelle's first child, Jerry, battled 3 types of cancer before his death in 2011. He lived his entire life as a Woodburn resident. Lucile's daughter, Bonnie Beaty resides in Keizer with her husband Bob.
Lucile attributes her longevity to an active lifestyle and good genes.
"I never smoked, never drank, and always went to church," Lucile said. "But I come from good stock. Both grandparents and my parents lived into their 90s."
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