By Krista Tincher
Of the Tobacco Valley News
Meet Miss Molly.
That’s what they call her. Molly Gibson, to some. To others: The energizer bunny.
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She works out with her two daughters three times a week at Heidi’s Fitness Center in Eureka. The three laugh a lot, cracking jokes as they move to the music.
Gibson happens to be 98 years old. Her daughters are 74 and 70.
And that laughter is one secret, agree the three women, to a long, healthy life. Along with exercise, natural foods, and that strong Norwegian blood.
Born in October of 1911, Gibson is the eldest of 10 children of a Norwegian immigrant family.
Seven of her brothers and sisters are still alive.
Gibson spent her formative years in Cut Bank. She was working there as a nurse when she encountered a certain burn victim by the name of John who would become her husband in 1930. They would go on to have five children together.
Two of those children gathered, resting, around their mother at the fitness center last week.
The family moved to the Tobacco Valley in 1946, remember the sisters, after leaving a large ranch on the Milk River.
“That’s when I started first grade,” said Marjorie Rooney, remembering. She’s the younger sister, at 70.
The sisters remember life on a 400 acre ranch northeast of Eureka, complete with square dances on the weekends and school at the Glen Lake schoolhouse.
They’d walk the 4 1/2 miles into town sometimes just to buy a popsicle, laughed sister Sylvia Bronson.
John’s heart problems compelled the family to move into town in 1954, when John took a job as a Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy in Eureka.
Meanwhile, Gibson worked alongside John in the Christmas tree yards, and cooked at the Tobacco Valley Community Center for years. She was famous for her buns.
Nowadays, Gibson lives with her two widowed daughters. She moved in with Bronson 30 years ago, and Rooney joined them after her husband passed five years ago. John passed away in 1977.
“The only man we’ve got is a dog,” laughed Gibson last week, a twinkle in her blue eyes echoing the six rings on her fingers.
She likes her rings, she noted as she held out her 98-year-old hands. She proceeded to describe the origin of each bejeweled band: This one from Sylvia and Marjorie, this one was her mother’s, this was from her nephew...and she changes them up now and again, with others in her collection.
You learn to go on after the death of a loved one, said Roonie, her smile growing a touch more somber. Because if you don’t go on and continue to enjoy life, she said, you are doing a disservice to your loved ones, those that remain with you.
And the three certainly seem to be continuing to enjoy life.
They take road trips now and again to see family, to Alaska and California. “I do the driving, and she’s the map reader,” Rooney said, gesturing to her sister. And Gibson is the back-seat driver.
They play games, they take walks, they enjoy grandchildren and great grandchildren.
And they work out here together, three times a week. Gibson works all the machines at a regular weight, often completing more than two circuits before taking a rest.
“Her doctor says she’s got another 10 years in her,” said Rooney, looking at her mother proudly.
“Her heart’s good, and her blood pressure’s like a teenager’s,” Bronson added.
Gibson suffered a stroke last Christmas, but was back working out within three weeks, say her daughters.
The daughters attribute their mother’s healthful longevity to a variety of factors. Gibson never did pick up the habit of smoking or drinking, say her daughters, and she has had a life filled with outdoor work, eating homegrown vegetables and meats rather than processed foods.
“And there’s always been a lot of laughter in the family,” said Bronson. “We’re a pretty happy family,” Rooney agreed.
The three are already planning Gibson’s 100th birthday party. Two of Gibson’s younger sisters are turning 80 and 90 years old that same year.
It’ll be one big party, agree the mother and daughters. And it’s going to be fun.