Oxford resident John Moses will accomplish a true milestone in his life this week. He will celebrate his 100th birthday on Feb. 18 with his friends and family in Richmond, Michigan.
He said that he isn’t anxious about turning 100, ‘and it’s not all golden, that’s for sure; but it ain’t all bad,? he said.
As part of his centennial celebration, Moses will deliver a special sermon at his church in Brandon Township, the Oakwood Restoration Branch of Jesus Christ (5220 Oakwood Rd.), on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 11 a.m.
Born into a farming family in Nokomis, Illinois in the early part of the 20th century, his life began as an adventure before he even came out of his mother’s womb.
‘It snowed so hard the night before I was born, my grandmother served as the midwife,? Moses said.
The oldest of eight boys, his father was very strict with him. ‘He was always telling me that I should be an example instead of a hindrance.? After turning 17, he decided to leave home and traveled northwest to North Dakota.
It was then his uncle in Michigan found out that he left home, so he wrote him a letter asking him to go to work for him. Moses accepted, and began hitch-hiking his way from North Dakota to Michigan.
One day while John was walking, a man named Henry Ford stopped and offered him a ride. They began discussing what John did for a living and his travels, then Ford offered him a job working for him.
When he returned home at age 24, he was married to Olive Kendra and had the first of his four children.
‘I was the prodigal son. My father welcomed me and my family in with open arms,? he said.
All together, he has nine grandchildren, 22 great-grandchilden and two great-great grandchildren.
After living with his parents for one year, he moved out and went to work in the coal mines for five years before deciding to move to Richmond, MI where he took a job at a gas station working on car engines and trained himself to be an auto mechanic. He then took a job in 1959 as a mechanic for Pontiac Engineering, working for 20 years before retiring in 1979.
While he was working at the gas station, he began constructing his own house in 1946, which took him two years to complete. ‘I worked every day in the garage and built that house in Richmond,? he said. ‘I did my own plumbing and electrical wiring.? He moved to Oxford in 1961 and rented a house so he would not have to drive so far to work every day. In 1963, he moved into his current home and added an upstairs and a porch to it.
Once he retired, he and his wife bought a travel trailer and began sightseeing around the country. ‘I traveled all over the United States. In the summer time we would travel around the country. We went to over 17 states, spending a couple of weeks in one trailer park before moving onto the next,? he said.
After sixty-two years of marriage, Olive passed away in April 1994. He remarried at the age of 85 to his wife Irene in Sept. 1995. They met when he traveled to his sister’s house in Independence, Missouri. ‘When I went to Independence to visit my sister Lylia, some lady learned that I was visiting here from Michigan, so she got some people from Michigan together at her house for a party.?
He recalled the first time he met Irene. ‘We drove in the driveway and I drove in first and she was right behind me, and we got out of the car at the same time and she said I know who you are but you don’t know me. So I turned around to see who she was. So we went into the party.?
When he got back to his sister’s house, he told her that he was going to call Irene and ask her out to dinner. They got together for dinner and hit it off right away. After many unsuccessful attempts at asking her to marry him, she finally said yes and they got married at his brother’s church in Illinois.
The key for Moses to living a long life is the fact that he didn’t have any serious illness until recently. He contracted pulmonary fibrosis six months ago, which requires him to be on oxygen.
‘Life is not always roses, but it’s been a good life to me,? he said.