E AST O REGONIAN
LIFESTYLES
WEEKEND, FEBRUARY 16, 2019
Contributed photo
Dorothy McCauley and granddaughter Rhonda Gowan take a camel ride near Ayers Rock in Australia.
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
O
utside
Dorothy
McCauley’s
front
door is a sign that
reads “Live & Love
to the Fullest.”
This is McCauley’s mantra.
Last month, the 94-year-old
Pendleton woman sat high on
a camel and rode into an Aus-
tralian sunset. She snorkeled
the Great Barrier Reef, swam
at Bondi Beach and explored a
labyrinth of caves.
Kerry Baird, owner and
principal broker of Turn Here
Realty & Travel in Pendleton,
led the tour.
“We rode camels at Ayers
Rock where Dorothy was said
to be the oldest to ever take the
camel ride. She was ready to
go,” Baird said. “From petting
crocodiles to talking to the big
kangaroos, Dorothy was ready
and willing.”
According to McCauley,
riding a camel isn’t so tough.
“They’re not hard to ride,”
she said. “You get in rhythm
with them like a horse.”
McCauley seems blessed
with a never-ending supply of
chutzpah.
“I’m not scared by much,”
McCauley said.
McCauley’s granddaugh-
ter, Rhonda Gowin, went along
on the trip. She said her grand-
mother is up for anything, a
living example of the sign by
her front door.
“She lives life to the fullest
in every moment,” Gowin said.
The nonagenarian has out-
lived one husband and a signif-
icant other and doesn’t seem to
be slowing down.
Recently, she sat on the
sofa in her apartment at Ore-
gon Trail Manor. Life has been
good, though not always easy,
she said. McCauley’s girlhood
was sometimes hardscrabble.
She grew up in a close, bois-
terous family with four broth-
ers and four sisters. When her
father couldn’t fi nd work, the
clan moved from South Dakota
to Shelton, Washington.
“We lived in a huge tent in
a fi eld,” McCauley recalled.
“Dad worked in the mill.”
The family eventually
moved to a house when Dor-
othy was 4. The place had
enough land for a huge gar-
den and cows. She remembers
tending the garden and sharing
cow-milking duties with her
siblings.
At Shelton High School, a
relationship sparked between
Dorothy and Charles McCau-
ley. They married in 1943.
When Charles left to fi ght in
World War II as a Marine, Dor-
othy logged with her father.
“I drove a horse and team,”
she said. “I hooked onto logs
and dragged them to the
landing.”
When Charles returned,
the couple moved wherever
Charles’ logging career took
him. They raised three chil-
dren. Dorothy clerked at stores,
bartended and worked as a
nursing home aide. Later, she
was employed at the Puget
Sound Naval Shipyard in
Bremerton doing electrical
work.
“To this day, I can take any-
thing apart and put it back
together again — and it works,”
she said.
In her 50s, both Charles and
Dorothy worked at the Boeing
plant in Fife, Washington.
Charles got cancer at age
62. When his doctor estimated
that Charles had only two years
left, Dorothy decided other-
wise. She retired from Boeing
and spent her time transform-
ing their diet, accompanying
her husband to the local athletic
club for exercise sessions and
instigating trips to Arizona in
their travel trailer to escape the
winter chill. The change in life-
style seemed to work.
“He had two years to live,
but I kept him alive for eight,”
McCauley said.
After Charles’ death, she
met Donald Tilon in Yuma,
Arizona. Romance blossomed.
The couple never offi cially tied
the knot, but spent rich years
together. After moving to his
hometown of Pendleton in
1998, McCauley traveled with
Tilon to Mexico and almost
every state. In 2016, Dorothy
lost Donald to Alzheimer’s
disease.
McCauley broke away from
the past as a knock sounded on
her apartment door. Her friend
Maxine Haines turned the
knob and peeked in. McCauley
broke into a grin. The women
are kindred spirits. They are
traveling companions. Nei-
ther believe in acting their age,
whatever that is.
According
to
Haines,
McCauley is always ready to
do anything.
“She’s my four-wheeling
partner,” Haines said. “We love
mud puddles.”
They laughed as they
recounted roaring into a mud
puddle and splashing Haines’
son. Yes, they admitted, they
did it on purpose.
“We have a ball,” Haines
said. “She’s a go-getter.”
On this day, they planned
to go to the Pendleton Senior
Center where they both vol-
unteer. Both work in the store
there, prepare the beverages for
meals, clean tables or whatever
is needed.
Genetics may play a part in
McCauley’s longevity. A photo
on her dresser shows her pos-
ing with three siblings who
are all in their 90s. Her mother
lived to age 98.
She also stays physically
active.
“I’ve always exercised,” she
said. “I walk in the gym, work
on the weight machines and do
water aerobics.”
Her attitude provides the
icing on the cake. Gowin mar-
vels about her grandmother’s
easygoing attitude and passion
for adventure. When Gowin’s
husband got a Harley, McCau-
ley asked for a ride. She inner
tubes behind the family’s boat,
loves ziplining and has her eye
on a mile-long zip line in Col-
orado sometime soon. She’d
like to parachute from a plane.
“She wants to go skydiv-
ing,” Gowin said. “If the doctor
gives the OK, she’ll do it.”
“I’ve always wanted to sky-
dive,” McCauley said. “That’s
on my bucket list.”
Contributed photo
Contributed photo
Contributed photo
Dorothy McCauley holds a koala bear during a
recent trip to Australia.
Dorothy McCauley and granddaughter Rhonda Gowan pose for a
photo in front of Ayers Rock in Australia.
Dorothy McCauley shares a laugh with her broth-
er, Russell Stuck at his 99th birthday in November.