John Burrow was surrounded by up to 80 family members ranging from toddlers to 90-year-olds as he celebrated his 100th birthday July 5 at the Ridgefield Community United Methodist Church.
The day focused on a long life to which he gives no particular credit except “good genes and good luck.”
Only the day before — in 90-plus degree heat — he was seated in honor upon a float sponsored by the Port of Ridgefield in the town’s Fourth of July parade. “That was wonderful,” he said. “Real fun!”
The celebration included a slide show of numerous photos of Burrow: in his youth as a city ball player, poling a raft down the Columbia River, and others commemorating family weddings and graduations.
A Ridgefield resident since he was 6, Burrow was raised on Bachelor Island, which is now a part of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. He married his high school sweetheart, Eunice, raised three daughters, and worked at the Bratlie Brothers mill in Ridgefield until it was destroyed by a fire. He subsequently worked at the Vancouver Kaiser shipyards, then for lumber mills and logging companies in Longview, Woodland and Vancouver. Eunice passed away three years ago.
As a young man, he was active civically in his hometown as a volunteer fireman and a councilman. He also served as Ridgefield’s mayor from 1960-64.
Burrow is happy to report he enjoys good health, eats and drinks what he wants and as much as he wants no matter what the doctor says, and still has a legal driver’s license, although he doesn’t go far. “Maybe to the post office and that’s about it,” he said. His daughters live nearby and “keep an eye on me.”
He enjoys thinking back on his life and said, “My memory puts me back to the past like the snap of a finger. Everything goes so fast. The past seems like it was just yesterday.”
