Parkers Chapel mother, daughter reach 100th, 80th birthdays today

Happy Birthday: Edielene Beeson Goode Zacher, and her daughter, Laketa, pose together at their birthday celebration at First Baptist Church in Parkers Chapel on Saturday. Edielene turns 100 today and Laketa turns 80. Contributed photo
Happy Birthday: Edielene Beeson Goode Zacher, and her daughter, Laketa, pose together at their birthday celebration at First Baptist Church in Parkers Chapel on Saturday. Edielene turns 100 today and Laketa turns 80. Contributed photo

A mother and daughter pair in Parkers Chapel are celebrating separate milestones today, with 100th and 80th birthdays.

Misti Bounds, the great-granddaughter and granddaughter of the pair, said Edielene Beeson Goode Zacher, and her daughter, Laketa, were able to celebrate their birthdays together on Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Parkers Chapel. Edielene was born Feb. 14, 1919, and her daughter, Laketa, was born Feb. 14, 1939.

Bounds said Edielene grew up in Village, Arkansas, an unincorporated area of Columbia County, during the aftermath of World War I and during the Great Depression. Bounds noted the sheer amount of changes her great-grandmother has experienced in her lifetime — she grew up in a time when the horse and buggy were still the main means of traveling long distances, though Edielene typically walked everywhere she went, including four miles to school and later to the cotton mill that she began working at when she was 14. To this day, Bounds said, her great-grandmother’s favorite invention is the television.

Edielene finished school in the 10th grade, later getting married and starting her family. Bounds said it wasn’t until Edielene was 40 that she learned to drive.

Bounds said she asked her great-grandmother whether she ever imagined living to be 100 years old, to which she responded “No way.”

At the party Saturday, Bounds said the mother and daughter pair, who live together in Parkers Chapel, were “queens for a day,” with tiaras and new outfits to celebrate the occasion.

“I just think it’s awesome,” Bounds said. “They’ve always been these strong, independent women. … They’ve set such a precedent of strong women in our family.”

Bounds said Edielene credits reaching her 100th birthday to Jesus. Edielene loves to sing and both she and her daughter love watching westerns and playing cards.

“Happy birthday to these awesome ladies that have always been a strong backbone of our family,” Bounds said. “We’re so proud of them.”

Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].

Edielene Beeson Goode Zache sits behind her 100th birthday cake at her birthday celebration at First Baptist Church in Parkers Chapel on Saturday. She turns 100 today. Contributed photo
Edielene Beeson Goode Zache sits behind her 100th birthday cake at her birthday celebration at First Baptist Church in Parkers Chapel on Saturday. She turns 100 today. Contributed photo

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