Reporter's notebook: Celebrating a centenarian

The Clovis Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is celebrating one of the area's next centenarians.

The center honored Edna Thomas, 99, on Wednesday, about two months ahead of her 100th birthday.

Dr. Synden Borders said we have a 1 in 144,000 chance of living to age 100. The odds are about the same for living 99 years, 10 months.

Edna Shope was born Oct. 1, 1919, in Norton, south of Tucumcari, to Burt and Victoria Shope. She grew up on the Shope homestead near Grady, and was the president and valedictorian of Grady's 1937 graduating class. Her cousin, Herman Shope, was secretary and treasurer.

She married Thurman Thomas in September 1941 in Logan, and they raised two children on the family farm - Lavedna May and Edna Ross. Thurman died in 2010, Ross said, about six months shy of what would have been their 69th anniversary.

Ross said her mom has enjoyed sewing, cooking, gardening and the occasional word search.

"She's just a super mom," said Ross, who taught for 26 years in the Clovis school system. "She always took care of the sick people, not just in the church, but in the community."

Thomas mostly helped her husband with their farm, but was a bookkeeper for several years at Logan's McFarland Brothers Bank. In addition to her daughters, Thomas has six grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

The gathering also honored six of the facility's nonagenarians - people 90 or older.

Reporter's notebook was compiled by Editor Kevin Wilson. He can be contacted at 575-763-3431, ext. 320, or by email:

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