Marjorie Arnold’s 108th birthday in August brought four generations of her family together in Raleigh—and Arnold got up to dance. Born in 1918 in Tarboro, North Carolina, she has spent much of her life caring for relatives and helping neighbors, according to CBS 17. Today, her daughter Lucy lives with and cares for her.
Lucy’s caregiving is part of a family story that now spans generations. She describes caring for her mother as an opportunity she had hoped for: “I asked God to give me that opportunity, and it came,” she said, according to CBS17.
Arnold’s own experience of caring for others began when she was a teenager. She was the oldest of 10 children and, at 14 or 15, cared for her sick mother until she died, then took responsibility for her younger siblings. She also made their clothes by hand, according to the CBS17 account.
A Lifetime Built Around Family and Neighbors
As an adult, Arnold raised her children while working long days on a farm and also brought home-cooked food to neighbors, according to CBS 17. Cooking was a particular passion: her daughter Judy Rhodes recalls her mother’s collards and cabbage and says watching her cook inspired her own love of cooking…