Local woman turning 100 on November 18

Bessie Francis celebrating 100 years

Family members of long-time Shoreline resident Bessie Francis are having a Open House for her 100th birthday on November 13 at her home in Shoreline.

She will turn 100 on November 18, 2016, with an Open House party at her home in Shoreline, where she has lived for nearly all of her 100 years, said her daughter Roberta Hawkins.

She has outlived all her siblings, and nearly all of her contemporaries, but has made many friends in the Shoreline area and at the Northgate Outpatient Clinic Gym where she went for years.

Born in Minnesota, she came to the area with her parents as a small child. The family acquired a quarter section in the area now known generally as Richmond Highlands in the city of Shoreline.

Her grandparents, the Partridges, lived there and gave a parcel of the property to Bessie’s mother and husband. She grew up in the home they built and attended school in the area until high school, when students from the area were bussed to Lincoln High School in Seattle.

After graduation she met her husband at a favorite dance spot, Dick Parker’s on Aurora. After their marriage, they too acquired a piece of the original family section. They began with a small dwelling complete with wood stove and the usual outdoor accommodations.

As she says, over time “the house grew like Topsy” meaning it kept expanding outward and upward, where they raised their two daughters, Carolyn and Roberta, along with a large garden and chickens.

For more information, contact Roberta Hawkins.