Happy Birthday Iris - MAY YOU BLOOM FOREVER!!!

Iris Stout with one of her great granchildren.


Our family is blessed to call Iris Stout a friend. She is the only friend we have who is 100 years old.

In this case "old" is not an adequate adjective to describe Iris. Chronologically, it is an accurate word. But in very other way that a human being can exist, Iris is anything but "old."

She has lived a full, rich, happy life, including the 30-plus years she has been a widow. Her husband was Gene Autry's personal lawyer, and he and Iris were business partners with him.

No one in our neighborhood knew until recently how old she really is because of how she lives. She gardens, travels to visit loved ones all over the world, prepares meals for families who have had hardships, attends all church meetings, all neigborhood parties, showers, receptions, etc. She is positive, happy and one of those beings who makes every room she is in brighter just by being there. You can FEEL her bright, joyful spirit before you can even SEE that Iris is there.

Iris is one of the many reasons I look forward to going to church on Sunday. Without fail, she seeks me out, gives me a hug and greets me. She asks what I have been up to, how I am and invariably gives me a compliment of some kind. She is as sharp as a tack, kind, generous to a fault, witty and a little sassy.

I don't really think Iris lives in my neighborhood - I think she commutes from the Celestial Kingdom each morning to make our world a better place.

Iris is one of my heros.

Some favorite Iris sayings:

"Be kind to people, even if they don't deserve it."

"Get out of bed every morning thinking about how many people you can serve that day. Go to bed every night with the satisfaction that you have served them."

"I love pretty clothes. When you dress well, you act your best."

"If you have time to open a gift, you have time to say Thank You."

"The gospel is true. What else matters?"

I attended a birthday party for Iris over the weekend, and they handed out some of Iris' favorite recipes. One of the pages was entitled "Live-to-be-100 Lunch." It is the lunch Iris has almost very single day. Here is the menu: Iris' veggie and melted cheese sandwich; 1 diet coke; 1 chocolate chip cookie.

In case you want to live to be 100, here is Iris' recipe for her favorite sandwich:

"Spread a little mayo and a little Dijon mustard on a slice of whole wheat bread. Slice some avocado and some ripe tomato on top. Top with a few slices of Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese - don't waste yourself on bad-tasting cheese, get the good stuff. Broil this in your toaster oven until cheese is bubbly."

Happy Birthday Iris - may you live another 100 years!