SEQUIM — Evalyn Humphrey, a resident of Sequim for 30 years, joins the exclusive centenarian club Saturday, saying natural unprocessed foods and regular exercise have been her keys to long life.
“I didn’t plan on it,” she said of turning 100. “I think part of it was luck and excellent medical care.”
A woman who has ridden 10,000 miles on her exercise bicycle, she now walks up and down her long driveway with the help of a walker.
Joining her Saturday to celebrate her 100th birthday at C’est Si Bon restaurant in Port Angeles will be her son, Robert Humphrey, and his wife, Mary, of Anchorage, Alaska; her daughter, Lynn Cain, and her husband, Jerry, of Sequim; and two grandchildren, Christopher Cain and Meghan Humphrey.
Friends from the Seattle area also are expected to join the party.
Born Feb. 26, 1911, in Vancouver, B.C., to American parents who lived in Bellingham, Humphrey grew up in Bellingham. She and her family also lived in Kent, where she worked for the phone company.
She later taught second grade for three years in Bremerton, where she met her husband.
On June 11, 1938, Ernie Humphrey and the former Evalyn Christina Sears were married in a military ceremony.
They were married for 72 years before his death in September at age 95.
He became an aviator in 1940, serving in the Pacific Theater in the Battle of Midway during World War II, and retired a captain in 1963.
‘Blue hole’ an attraction
It was the famed “blue hole” that drew the retiring Humphreys to Sequim 30 years ago.
While her husband was flying over Sequim, “he noticed there was a blue hole there, and he checked with the Pentagon, and he said they told him that was a phenomenon there,” Humphrey said.
“Then he told me he wanted to live here.”
After living as a Navy wife, often on the move to her husband’s next tour of duty, Humphrey said it has been wonderful to live in the same home for 30 years.
The Humphreys took many tours of duty, including Port Lyautey, Morocco (1954-1955), where he attained the rank of captain, and London (1961-1962), where he was the U.S. Navy liaison to NATO.
Stateside, they lived in Rhode Island and Norfolk, Va., among other locations.
After his Navy service, they moved to Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo., where he worked until retirement.
Humphrey said she started exercising more and eating better after her husband had heart bypass surgery more than 30 years ago.
“That’s when we changed our lifestyle,” she said. “We ate no more processed foods.”
She also exercised with Olympic Medical Center’s “Healthy You” program.
She still eats well today, sharing recipes with her caregivers.
She said she has kept active as a gardener and artist and has read everything, especially history and nonfiction.
“I have a good attitude toward things — very positive,” she said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
