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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2020)
100 YEARS: Centenarian keeps the faith and stays positive Continued from page 1 Hearing the news of Zemko9s birthday cancella- tion, friends decided to put together a birthday surprise that outdid anything Zemko could have imagined <How it would all come together was anybody9s guess. It was a surprise,= said her granddaughter, Lori Flanders. <I told her there9s someone outside that wants to see you, and her dear friend Laurie Vanderbeek handed her flowers. Dr. Kevin Miller and his daughter drove by, too. Everybody had signs on their cars and balloons with birthday greetings. We main- tained our social distancing through it all.= Zemko was overwhelmed with gratitude and amaze- ment at how many people helped her celebrate. <It was the most outstand- ing birthday that I9ve ever had,= she said from her home outside Sisters, where she lives with Flanders and her husband. <It was unbelievable,= Zemko said, laughing. <I have never experienced anything like that in my life. I felt like a movie star! Friends showed up that I met since I moved here from Sisters, Redmond and Powell Butte. It just blew my mind; I was so shocked and so pleased to know that many people thought of me. I have flowers and cards still coming too. I9ve met some of the sweetest people since I moved in with my grand- daughter seven years ago and have lived in Oregon for 40 years.= Zemko moved from Springfield, before that she lived in Southern California for a short time and was born in Oklahoma. She came to Oregon 40 years ago. Zemko considers Central Oregon a little piece of heaven. <Everyone9s so good to me here,= she said. <I couldn9t be treated any better.= H e r c h i l d h o o d i n Oklahoma was full of hard work and lots of love. She grew up with seven siblings, four older and two younger, and they all picked cotton <We were sharecroppers and Dad was a blacksmith,= she said. Her family lived through the Dustbowl, the Depression and World War II. <I remember my Mama hanging wet sheets over the windows to try and keep the dust from blowing in,= she said recalling the Dustbowl. <We did everything we could to keep the sand out, but there was a cloud of dust coming.= Zemko says when she remembers her past, her memories are all good. <I love everybody,= she said. Flanders says she admires her Nana and how she doesn9t focus on the rough times. <She remembers them but it9s not her focus,= Flanders said. <She celebrates the happy times.= Zemko knows God is in control and he9s not ready for her yet. <She9s a woman of strong faith in good times and bad. It9s been her relationship with Jesus Christ that has helped her have a journey where she didn9t worry. She knew that God had a story for her, he knew it and he wrote it. She read the Bible to me when I was a little squirt and I9m almost 60,= said Flanders. <That9s what I think of when I think what has carried her through. She is a woman of prayer and prays morn- ing, noon and night. She9s a prayer warrior.= <I have had so many answered prayers. Living to 100 I9ve gotten to see them,= Wednesday, May 6, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon said Zemko. <One is that I can still see.= She still does embroidery. She prayed that God would allow her to keep her sight so she could do artwork on her embroidery and support other people through letter writing. Every week Zemko drinks a gallon of whole milk and eats biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs for breakfast <And I still have my teeth, honey!= she chuckled. Her favorite place in their home is in the living room and family room where she can look out and see the mountains: <They are abso- lutely beautiful, and I love the sun.= Flanders takes her grand- mother into Sisters for outings. <We like to go to Bi-Mart and eat at Takoda9s,= said Flanders. <That9s her favor- ite stomping ground and she always gets their Marionberry cobbler. She also likes to go to Three Creeks Brewery.= The Sisters Movie House still amazes Zemko. She loves ordering her food and enjoying it while she watches a movie. Zemko has friends all over the U.S. and keeps in touch with her best friend who lives in Springfield and is 103. They can9t talk on the phone anymore, but she cher- ishes their friendship. One of Zemko9s favorite activities is brightening other people9s day. Until her 90s, she visited nursing homes and encour- aged residents by spending time with them. Eight years ago, she stopped driving, so she writes three to 15 cards per week to whoever she can think of to bring a little joy into their day. <It9s a blessing to me to do it,= she said. A Partnership Beyond Your Expectations Stop by and visit with Tiana Van Landuyt & Shelley Marsh. 220 S. Pine St., Ste. 102 | 541-548-9180 23 BY KATHY DEGGENDORFER THE ARENDS & SCOTT REALTY GROUP Discover the Diff erence Phil Arends Principal Broker 541-420-9997 phil.arends@cascadesir.com Licensed in the State of Oregon Chris Scott Broker 541-588-6614 chris.scott@cascadesir.com Licensed in the State of Oregon