Portwood ready to celebrate 100th

Lee Portwood will turn 100 years old on Jan. 21 and will celebrate with family and friends on Jan. 20 at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church. The Bullard native says the secret to his longevity is to "stay busy all the time."

Lee Portwood will celebrate his 100th birthday with family and friends in the fellowship hall of the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church near Whitehouse on Jan. 20.

He was born in Bullard on Jan. 21, 1908 to B.A. and Lula McAnally Portwood. His mother passed away shortly after his birth. Later his dad married Addie Durham who was a great mother to him.

The family moved to the Walnut Grove community where he grew up.

Portwood married the late Mozell Pierce of Bullard in 1929.

He has lived in the Bullard and Whitehouse area all of his life except for a short stint in the U.S. Army when he was 18, and then in WWII he was drafted into the Navy.

Portwood has one daughter and son-in-law, Patsy and J.T. Stanton of Whitehouse, two grandsons and one granddaughter (deceased), four great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.

His occupation was farming and raising chickens for egg production. He also worked for Western Foundry but worked and retired from Tyler Pipe when he was 65. He continued with them part time for four more years.

Portwood attributes his long life to honesty and hard work. His motto is "just stay busy all the time."