Thayer marks 100th birthday

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Larimer County native Maude Leone Thayer celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and five generations of family on Sept. 8.

Most people know her by her middle name, Leone. She grew up in LaPorte but lived on a farm four miles south of Timnath for many years and moved to Park Lane Towers in Fort Collins in 1984, where she still lives.

Thayer's roots in the county go back to 1874 when her maternal grandparents, Clerin T. and Emma Woods, settled in Cherokee Park a few miles northwest of Livermore. Emma Woods lived to be 101.

On her paternal side, Frank Baxter migrated to Colorado in 1883 and settled near Stove Prairie. He married Florence Emma Woods in 1902. This long heritage earned Thayer the Pioneer of the Year award in 1998.

The Baxters had five children. Leone was born in the family home at the corner of Shields and Vine. Shortly after her birth, her father bought the LaPorte Store and Post Office on Overland Trail, and the family lived in back of the store. Frank Baxter held the job of LaPorte postmaster from 1913 to 1937, and he served as county commissioner from 1923 to 1927.

Thayer recalls her days in the store, working with her father, with affection. "I loved to be in the store," she said. "I loved to be wherever my dad was."

She admits to being "kind of spoiled" and having an independent streak. She graduated from high school in LaPorte in 1923 with 13 members in her class. Five years after earning a college degree in home economics, she married high school sweetheart Kenneth Thayer in 1932. He was the only boy she ever dated.

The young couple took up farming near Timnath and significantly expanded their land holdings over the years. They had three daughters, Donna, Kay and Marian, all of whom shared in the birthday celebration. Kenneth Thayer died in 1982.

Donna McCreery, who lives in Loveland, remembers well the cooking and sewing lessons learned from her mother. McCreery always enters cakes in the county fair and won five ribbons this year.

Kay LaBau, the middle child now living in Anchorage, recalled how her mother sewed for all three girls and their dolls. Christmas sometimes brought a special doll outfit that Mom had managed to keep secret.

The youngest, Marian Johnson, lives in Mitchell, Neb. She remembers "the magic Mom was able to perform." Whether it be driving a carload of kids somewhere or preparing a big family meal, she was "never in a big stew."

"She was just always there to do everything she could," Johnson said, and that included taking care of grandchildren for a day or two or three at a time.

Thayer joined the Presbyterian Church in Timnath and has the distinction of being its first "lady elder." Former minister Dave Davis admitted at the birthday celebration that he "was a very headstrong guy and she helped mellow me a bit."

"She's one of the greatest ladies I have ever had in any of my churches," he said.

Family friends Verna and Bob Naftzger said Thayer's sense of humor has most certainly contributed to her longevity.

Until just a few years ago, Thayer remained active in all the family business meetings. A few days after her birthday party, sitting in a chair with views overlooking the city, Thayer had no regrets about the last hundred years. "Everything just seemed to come to me, and I just grabbed it," she said. "I was happy with what I was doing."