"Don't drink, don't smoke and — with good luck and good genes — you've got a shot at living past the century mark.
Theresa Walker Lamebull, who died Friday at 111, gave her children another piece of advice on good living: Don't gossip. It hurts others.
I can't help but think that Theresa's compassion and respect for people had something to do with her longevity.
A devout Catholic, she lived God's command to "love thy neighbor as thyself."
Yet there was plenty of room in Theresa's life for bitterness.
She was born in 1896, the year door-to-door mail delivery started in Great Falls.
Her family still lived in a traditional teepee village, but the vast buffalo tribes that sustained her people for centuries were gone.
Theresa was among thousands of Indian children sent to boarding schools, a bit of social engineering that scarred children and their families for decades to come."
Get the Story:Karen Ogden: Lamebull leaves behind strong legacy, example (The Great Falls Tribune 8/16)
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