105-year-old's motto: 'Never lose hope and faith'

Friday, Dec. 23, 2022

MIDVALE — Enedina Astorga E. Stubbs has lived through two world wars, seen 20 men serve as president of the United States, and witnessed the advent of technology such as microwave ovens, smart phones and medical advances that helped her 8-year-old son survive open-heart surgery. From that life she has gleaned some wisdom to share. “Be proud of who and what you are. Never give up. Be patient and enjoy your life,” said the St. Therese of the Child Jesus parishioner, who turned 105 on Dec. 5.

For that occasion, she was presented with an apostolic blessing sent from Pope Francis.

Stubbs has been recognized as her parish’s Woman of the Year and for her service at the Midvale Senior Center. She also is a member of the Governor’s Century Club; as of July 2021, 165 centenarians were registered in Utah.

Born in Colorado in 1917, Stubbs has nine siblings, two children, four grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren. When she was 11 years old she was orphaned; four of her siblings were old enough to live on their own, but four were sent to live with other family members and two went to an orphanage.

She married in 1939 and had two children. After getting divorced in 1947, she became the family provider. Although at the time education wasn’t seen as a priority for girls, “It has always been a priority in my life, no matter the circumstances, to work hard and receive the education I needed to move ahead,” she said in a history that was published by Home Instead.

Despite working six days a week at restaurants, raising her kids, and regularly attending Mass, she searched for her two siblings who were put into an orphanage. Eventually she found them and they were reunited.

“What a miracle and such a joyful time,” she recalled in the Home Instead article.

Stubbs is proud of her Hispanic heritage and has transmitted that culture to her children, said Kathy Cooper, her oldest child, who has been taking care of Stubbs for the past 10 years.

“This is just something that you do; with the Hispanic background you simply have to,” Cooper said with a smile, in an interview with the Intermountain Catholic.

Because Stubbs now is housebound, Cooper makes sure that they watch Mass together and that she receives Communion at her home.

“My mother was a single mom raising my brother and me,” Cooper recalled. “My mother didn’t remarry until we were older. She used to work as a waitress; we bought the groceries with her tip money and with her salary we paid the rent.”

Among the challenges facing the family was that Cooper’s brother had a heart condition that required several open-heart surgeries at a very young age, she said.

“We had a beautiful family with her and her siblings that helped raise us kids,” Cooper said, adding that her mother led by example, never giving up and making her Catholic faith part of their lives. 

“Whether she could make it or not [because of her work schedule], she always made sure that we went to church,” Cooper said, explaining that through her mother’s guidance some family members would take her and her brother to church and catechism classes. 

Stubbs remarried in 1962; her husband bought them the home in which she still lives. He died in 2011 at the age of 95.

Stubbs has been an example not only to her family members but also to others.

Sharon McPolin, a St. Therese parishioner, said in an interview that having Stubbs in her life has been a blessing.

“She is an inspiration to everyone; she has always been there for everyone,” McPolin said, adding that she admires Stubbs’ faith and love. “Her faith and her life with her family, her love for Our Lord – you can always see in her. … When someone shows their faith and shares it, that is just simply wonderful, and that’s what Enedina has done.”

Despite the challenges Stubbs has faced, “she has always been a delight to be around,” McPolin said, adding that Stubbs has taught her to never give up, always have hope and to have faith as a pillar of life.