Centenarian

Wilma Grace (Bleasner) Duer

Spokane

Wilma Grace (Bleasner) Duer is celebrating her 100th birthday today. She was born Dec. 27, 1911, in Eagle Grove, Iowa, and grew up on a farm in Renwick, Iowa. She has been a resident of the Spokane area since 1961.

Duer met her husband, Willard Duer, at a dance in Eagle Grove. They married in 1931. He died in 1995.

Duer was a valedictorian in her high school speech class. She and her husband owned Duer’s Hatchery in Kanahwa for 30 years. They moved to Spokane in 1961 and to Spokane Valley in 1963, where Duer worked at J.C. Penney.

Duer’s hobbies include playing bridge, oil painting, sewing, upholstering, ceramics and crocheting. She loves people and enjoys Sunday drives and outings. One of her most rewarding life achievements has been making her daughters’ and granddaughters’ wedding dresses.

Duer credits her long and healthy life to hard work, doing things herself, being raised on a farm with good healthy food, and canning and processing her own meats, vegetables and fruits.

Duer has five children: Carrolee Kraft, of Spokane Valley; Jon Duer, of Greenacres; Janet Bradshaw, of Hinesville, Ga.; Nancy Finch, of Spokane Valley; and the late Norman Duer.

She has 13 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.