Laura Ashbrenner, Oregon artist and illustrator, celebrates her 107th birthday
From Columbia Basin Care:
By Tamara Emler Ball
Laura Ashbrenner, a resident of Columbia Basin Care since 2013, says her secret to happiness and long life is to, “Enjoy every day as it comes” and “stay ornery”.
Laura, born in Battleground, Washington in 1914, attended the Oregon School of Fine Arts after high school, focusing on a career as an advertising agency artist. She worked as a fashion illustrator in the 1930s and 40s for top Portland retailers, including Meier & Frank department store for 20 years.
During the Great Depression Laura met her future husband, Edgar, and married him in 1937. Edgar worked for the railroad as a machinist in tiny Wishram, Washington, so Laura gave up her big-city career to move there. Later, she and Edgar moved to The Dalles and raised their three children, Vernon, Janet, and Marcene. They were married almost 76 years when Edgar passed away in 2013 at the age of 105.
Quiet and sweet-natured, Laura is an avid reader who always seems to have a book in her hands. She enjoys bingo and arts and crafts activities at Columbia Basin Care, a long-term care facility in The Dalles, Oregon.
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Founded in 1964, Columbia Basin Care is the region's only independent, not-for-profit facility for short-stay rehabilitation and long-term care. Columbia Basin Care is located at 1015 Webber St in The Dalles, 541-296-2156, colbasin.com
