Honor Those Who Stood Before Us in Denton County

With so many new people moving into Denton County daily, it is important to remember those who have spent their lives here. Our seniors have built the foundation upon which we now stand, and we should be thankful for their efforts. 

Denton County continues to grow with an estimated population of 1,036, 720 as of January 1, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Adding net migration to the equation equals to about 87 people choosing to move to our county every single day. 

Recently, I had the pleasure of celebrating the 100th birthday of Lewisville resident Oleta Pepper. 

The celebration at the Evergreen senior living community room included her friends, family, and a few local officials including myself and Lewisville City Councilmembers Bob Troyer and William J. Meridith. 

Together, we feted her with a red carpet, for her grand entrance, as well as food, an extraordinary birthday cake, and even one of her favorite things – a tomato – her favorite fruit. 

Oleta was born July 21, 1924, in Hollis Oklahoma. She lived in the country and recalls the Dust Bowl and its devastation. She married in 1941 and, during World War II, her husband was recruited into the Navy Seabees. 

She was raising a three-month-old son and chose to move in with her mother in Denton. During WWII, Oleta volunteered to work at the Grand Prairie War Plant. After eight weeks of training, she started full time. 

Complete with a hair net and rivet gun, Oleta worked as one of the famous “Rosie the Riveters.” She sat on PF-51 Mustang Fighters wings and riveted hard metal covers on the engines. 

After the war, Oleta and her husband moved to Lake Dallas and she opened a beauty shop in Lewisville from 1959 to 1961. She later worked for Dallas for 22 years. After her husband passed away in 1998, she moved to Houston where she lived with her son for nine years. In 2013, she moved to Evergreen in Lewisville. 

She has three children, eight grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and 10 great-great grandchildren. 

Her advice for a long life is to stay busy, face life’s challenges head on, don’t sit and brood, keep faith in the Lord, and be grateful for all your blessings. 

This is, indeed, great advice to follow. 

Thank you to Nancy Sansom for this information about Oleta and for setting up the celebration of 100 years of life. I wish Oleta only the best days ahead.  

With National Senior Citizens Day on August 21, let’s take the time to reach out to those who have come before us to create the path upon which we now all walk.DentonCountyCommissionerBobbieMitchell

If you have any questions or comments, please let me hear from you. My email is bobbie.mitchell@dentoncounty.com and my office number is 972-434-4780.