Vernice Doughten Will Become a Centenarian in October

 

September 15, 2021



On October 9, Vernice Doughten will celebrate her 100th birthday. To preserve her memory and the history of her life, Vernice’s grandson Rob Doughten composed her life story. In it, he tells the story of a resilient and religious woman who doesn’t count sheep to get to sleep; she talks to the Shepherd.

Born in 1921 to Helen (Gardner) and Frank Bergren, Vernice spent her early years living on the eastern plains of Montana in a small town called Twete, which was later renamed Hogeland. From the Big Flat, which is how many people refer to the area near the Canadian border, farm land stretches for as far as the eye can see with not much else to obstruct one’s view. Vernice would later farm this same land with her own husband, Leon Doughten.

Until she was seven years old, Vernice lived in a two-room, tar paper shack with a couple of Isaak glass windows. During an interview with her grandson, Rob, Vernice retold several stories with that shack as the setting. “We had good times here. Uncle Francis was way more entertaining than any television or radio, and when we weren’t horsing around with him, Dad would teach us a few words and how to count in Swedish.”


Eventually, the family would move into the “big house,” which Vernice’s dad built with the help of the family right before the Great Depression. That house consisted of multiple rooms and even an upstairs and a basement where Vernice’s mother stored the family’s supply of canned goods.

Vernice also recalls the sky’s beauty, the Northern Lights’ flickering in the wintertime, and the mirages of the Canadian mountains that appeared right outside their door. She also remembers the clouds moving across the night sky so quickly that her two year old self thought the moon was flying.


That her earliest memory is attached to clouds didn’t surprise her grandson. “When visitors and friends stop by and ask if she is lonely with so many of her family and friends now gone, Grandma always replies joyfully, ‘How could I be lonely? I am surrounded by a vast cloud of witnesses!’ She is referring to the Bible verse in Hebrews 12:1, as she spreads her arms out wide in her recliner as if to embrace all the angels and saints and those who have gone before her who will keep her company,” Rob described.

According to Rob, religion has always played a central role in his grandmother Vernice’s life. Vernice spent Sunday’s with her mother and siblings praying the rosary around the stove, and every evening closed with prayer. “No matter how difficult the day, we would kneel down beside our beds and say our prayers.”


Going to Mass as a child was also a “regular holiday,” as the Catholic church was approximately seven miles from the family home. “Dad would take us to church in a horse-drawn wagon and then remain outside during Mass to tend the horses,” Vernice recalls.

A Lutheran, Vernice’s father didn’t attend Mass, but his son Bob (Rob’s father) always remembers his father explaining to people: “I’d attend church if they built a round one. That way no one could corner me!”

Vernice still spends most of her days praying for her family, the church, and the world, while EWTN, the Catholic television channel plays in the background.

In addition to being a daughter—and eventually a wife and mother—Vernice was inspired to become a teacher after she got sick during her senior year in high school. Although medical professionals were never able to diagnose her affliction, Vernice describes an ailment that left her feeling like her entire body was on pins and needles—much like the sensation of a foot falling asleep. She also experienced a high fever that not only kept her out of school but caused severe memory loss, a condition which meant she had to relearn most of what she had been taught, including how to read.

With the help of several dedicated educators and through her own diligence, Vernice was able to graduate with the rest of her class in 1939. Inspired by those teachers, Vernice attended the Ursuline Center in Great Falls to become a teacher.

Living with the nuns, who continued to care for her as she struggled with occasional seizures and other residual effects from her earlier illness, Vernice attended school there for two years. To earn her room and board, she served as a teacher’s aide for the nun who taught first grade. Vernice believes she learned more from that nun than from any of the books she read on education.

When World War II began, the country experienced a shortage of teachers, and Vernice was able to begin teaching. She met Leon Doughten on a fall day while taking an after school walk. Leon, who was hauling sugar beets in an old truck, had experienced vehicle trouble and was broken down beside the road. Although Vernice had thought becoming a nun was her calling in life, Leon stole her heart. They married in 1943 and went on to have three sons: Bob, Jim, and Bill. Her husband passed away in 2006.

When Bill entered the third grade, Vernice returned to the classroom herself as a first grade teacher. She would go on to teach in four different schools in Blaine County. During her twenty years of teaching, one memory especially captures her teaching philosophy. Vernice describes a particular student in her special education class as one of the naughtiest boys she ever taught. “I tried everything to get him to behave. One night after a particularly rough day, I sat down at the coffee table and just cried, thinking, ‘What am I supposed to do with that child?’ While I prayed about the situation, a voice came to me that said, ‘Love him.’ In response, I said, ‘How can I love him? I don’t even like him; he is so naughty!’ The voice came again and repeated, ‘Love him.’ So, I decided, alright; I will try, but I will need some help.”

Vernice claims that with the help of Jesus, she loved the orneriness right out of that boy. Although Vernice admits that her methods of those years past when she told this young man that both she and Jesus loved him despite his meanness and his belief that he was ‘too awful to love’ may not be considered acceptable today, she still hopes that teachers display love for their students—even the ornery ones.

After retiring from the public school system, Vernice taught countless Bible studies and Sunday school classes. She always believed that keeping God first would ensure that everything else would fall into place.

Unable to pursue a profession as a nun because she was married, Vernice joined the Secular Franciscan Order on October 27, 1992. Explaining her choice, Vernice stated: “Franciscans love everybody and try not to be judgmental.” As an emblem of her vows, she wears a Franciscan Tau cross—a symbol of salvation and of life. When people approach her with their problems and concerns, she simply points to the Tau cross and says, “Don’t be afraid. Jesus will take care of it. It’s in His hands now.”

Vernice’s faith is deeply rooted in her personal experience, not only with moments experienced during prayer but when she was healed in the early 70’s while attending a Bible study in Harlem, Montana. She had been suffering from severe back pain and wore a back brace for twelve years. To get some relief, her pain management plan included medication. A travelling minister attended one of her Bible studies and asked whether anyone in the group desired healing.

“Yes, I would like that,” Vernice said, as she rose from her chair and kneeled before the minister, knowing it would take a chain hoist to get her back on her feet. The minister laid his hands on Vernice while reciting a short prayer, and her pain virtually disappeared. “I got up and felt like a completely new person,” she proclaimed.

While she believes in God’s ability to heal all wounds, she still insists: “Use your common sense and take care of your body.”

These days, Vernice lives a quiet life at St. John’s United in Billings. According to their website, St. John’s United is “a community of diverse people sharing God’s healing presence.” Their mission is “to provide living opportunities within nurturing environments of hope, dignity and love.” Here, Vernice still rides her stationary bike nearly every day and counts visits from children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren as highlights of her week. Her son Bob and his wife Diane live in Billings, as do her granddaughter, Christy Yochum, and her great grandchildren, Mason and Madison.

For those so inclined to celebrate the life of one who will have lived for a century, Vernice would likely enjoy hearing from the people of Blaine County. Her address is 3920 Rimrock Road #115; Billings, MT 59102. Although centenarians were once considered a rarity, research from Harvard scientists Thomas Perls and Margery Hutter Silver suggests that these “super-agers” are the world’s fastest growing age group.

As for Vernice, she is grateful for the years in her life and the life in her years. She doesn’t have any longevity lessons to share with readers, simply saying about her birthday: “I just hope to get there and past it. There are so many beautiful people who have helped me along the way, and I am thankful for them all.”

 
 

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