From the Great Depression to 105: A life celebrated in Texas

KTVT

By Caroline Vandergriff

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    MINERAL WELLS, Texas (KTVT) — Dean Abbott has lived through 19 presidents, two world wars and more than a century of change — and on her 105th birthday, the city of Mineral Wells made sure she knew just how much she’s appreciated.

The mayor officially declared May 26, 2025, as “Dean Abbott Day” in honor of the centenarian, who was born in 1920 in Arkansas and moved to Texas at age 3.

“I don’t know, I’m just getting old,” Abbott said with a laugh while flipping through old photos and memories.

A family of eight Abbott is the last surviving sibling of eight children.

“I had six sisters and one brother,” she said. “And I’m the only one left. And I’m the only one that ever reached a hundred. I just keep going. I’m not going to give up.”

She got married during her senior year of high school. Her first husband found work helping to build the Possum Kingdom Lake dam, one of the major public works projects launched during the Great Depression to boost employment.

Early years in tents “We just took off to Mineral Wells, got a tent,” Abbott said. “Everybody was just living in tents. So it was just like camping out. It was fun. We had a lot of fun.”

The couple had three children, but the marriage eventually ended. To support her young family, Abbott worked a variety of jobs — from beauty services to farming.

“I gave them perms and would arch your eyebrows and I’d do their fingernails,” she said. “And I babysat. And then I also chopped cotton and picked cotton.”

She later remarried, and in 1952 the couple moved into a home in Mineral Wells. Abbott said it felt like luxury to have indoor plumbing and electricity. She still lives in that same house today.

“Well, I live alone,” she said. “I do all my housework. I do my laundry. I cook.”

Abbott worked in factories for nearly 40 years before retiring at age 65. Since then, she’s focused on quieter pleasures: reading, sewing and spending time with her growing family — which now includes seven grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and counting.

“I have had three great-great-grandchildren this year,” she said proudly.

She’s also tried to pass on her legacy through cooking.

“I’ve written down my recipes,” she said, smiling. “I asked one of my grandsons what he thought of my cookbook. He said, ‘Well, I can’t read it.’ I said, what do you mean you can’t read? ‘Well, I don’t read cursive. They don’t teach you.’ And I said, well, I can’t type.”

The secret to longevity As for the secret to a long life?

“Hard work and clean living,” Abbott said. “You don’t drink, smoke or cuss… and I was like, I do that a little bit.”

Still, she believes there may be something more at work.

“I don’t know,” she said. “God, he’s not through with me yet, I guess.”

And so, with faith and laughter — and 105 candles — Dean Abbott continues to inspire a town that now celebrates her not just as a neighbor, but as a living piece of history.

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