Ashbrenner celebrates 105 years

She started drawing at age 12, and by 14 she was painting with oils. After high school she attended Oregon School of Fine Arts in Portland, and built a career as an artist for advertising agencies.

In the 1930s and 40s she worked as a fashion illustrator for top Portland department stores, including Meier & Frank and Lipman Wolfe. Her ink drawings are representative of the period and feature elegant, long-limbed women in tailored suits, flowing dresses and glamorous evening gowns.

In the 1930s, Laura met her future husband, Edgar, at a barn dance where both were out on dates with other people. It was during the Great Depression, and Edgar had to find a job before he could support a family. When the couple married in 1937, Laura moved away from her big-city career to the tiny railroad town of Wishram, where Edgar worked for the railroad as a machinist.

They had three children, Vernon, Janet, and Marcene, and raised their family in The Dalles.

They were married just shy of 76 years, until Edgar’s death in 2013 at age 105.

Sweet-natured and quiet, Laura is an avid reader and continues to paint and take part in art activities at Columbia Basin Care, a long-term care facility in The Dalles, where she has lived for many years.

What’s her secret to a long life? “Having something you love to do keeps you alive,” she said.

Columbia Basin Care

Columbia Basin Care, located in The Dalles, is the region’s only non-profit, community-owned facility offering long-term and short-term rehabilitation. Columbia Basin Care is located at 1015 Webber St. in The Dalles; 541-296-2156, colbasin.com.