Upshur bids farewell to 109-year-old resident

By ADAM J. HOLLAND

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

David Basham said Monday that he did not recall his 109-year-old mom, Birdie Basham, 
crediting anything for her long life.

"She was a very religious woman," Basham said. "In my mind, that was a lot of it. 
The good Lord wanted her to be here for more people to get to know her."
Les Hassell/News-Journal File Photo
(ENLARGE)
Birdie Basham talks to her great-granddaughter, Kristy Hemmingsen of Leesburg, 
during Basham's birthday party last year. Basham, who died Nov. 9, was considered 
the oldest Upshur County resident at age 109.
 

Birdie Basham — widely considered to have been the oldest Upshur County resident — 
died Nov. 9 in Gilmer. Her graveside services were Monday at Sunset Memorial Park. 
Basham would have been 110 on Dec. 28.

Born in 1897 in Saint Jo as Birdie Parkhill, she grew up to marry Pane Basham, 
and the two eventually left for the Texas Panhandle, where he became a cotton 
farmer for awhile. Eventually, the couple moved to Tulsa, where he sold cars and 
insurance.

"She worked at (Street's Department Store) in Tulsa," David Basham said. "She was 
an alteration lady for several years. But after my father died (after nearly 50 
years of marriage), she moved back to Texas."

This past December, Basham celebrated her 109th birthday party with family and 
the staff at Upshur Manor Nursing Home, where she had been a resident for several 
years. A nurse administrator said at the time that Basham had been walking around 
and working crossword puzzles up until she was about 107.

Basham is survived by her son and his wife, Audrey Basham, two grandchildren, 
three great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded 
in death by her husband, W.P. Basham, son Billy Basham and one grandchild.

"She was a wonderful woman — a good Christian woman all of her life," David Basham 
said. "She was very kind to everybody."

***

In Birdie Basham's lifetime

1901: President McKinley assassinated

1903: Wright brothers' first powered flight

1920: 19th Amendment passed, allowing women to vote

1942: Women's Army Corps established

1961: Berlin Wall built

1978: Women's Army Corps absorbed into regular military

1989: Berlin Wall dismantled

1994: Banks and malls arrive on the Internet

2007: Nancy Pelosi is the first female Speaker of the House

Born on Dec. 28, 1897, Birdie Basham lived through 19 of 43 U.S. presidents. 
Widely believed to have been the oldest living Upshur County resident, Basham 
was also among the 80 or so oldest persons living in the U.S, according to the 
Gerontology Research Group.