Reaching a milestone birthday of 100 years is quite an accomplishment and it is something many people can’t even imagine. Elizabeth “Liz” Morelan was born on April 24, 1921 in Henrietta, Oklahoma. This week the longtime resident of Sherwood Shores turned 104.

Morelan celebrated her birthday Thursday with root beer floats, cake, decorations and more.

Morelan started life as a farmer’s daughter in a small community and looking at her life story, something about small towns must have agreed with her. She has been a resident of Sherwood Shores since 1963.

“My friends are so good to me. They bring me food and take me to doctor’s appointments. You cannot live without good friends,” she said shortly before her 103rd birthday.

Though she made her home high on a hill in Sherwood Shores her current home is the Whitesboro Health and Rehabilitation Center which is fitting because she dedicated a lot of her free time on preserving that town’s history.

“She was a founding member of Keep Whitesboro Beautiful,” dear friend Pat Davis said around Morelan’s 103rd birthday.

Davis said she met Liz after joining the Whitesboro History Club.

“She had been in a car wreck. She couldn’t drive and somebody asked me to pick her up,” Davis said.

A friendship that both women treasure began.

Former Grayson County Sheriff Tom Watt said Morelan’s reputation had proceeded her before he met her.

“I met Liz in 2016, it was at an event during my first campaign. I had heard of her, She was spoken of with high regard from all who knew her. I approached her to introduce myself. When I reached out to shake her hand and she quickly took hold of my hand with both of hers and she pulled me in close and said very clearly, “we’re going to run a clean race young man.” The only response I could come up with was, “yes ma’am!”

Watt added, “I’ve admired Liz ever since that first encounter. She’s a petite ball of fire, a true force to be reckoned with. When Liz speaks people listen, she possesses an amazing wealth of knowledge. She is fiercely independent, and that independence is legendary in western Grayson County. Most people don’t realize that up until a couple of years ago Liz was still driving herself everywhere she went. I’ve never met anyone like her and I am truly honored to know her.”

Watt is not the only local politician who calls Morelan a friend. Former Grayson County Commissioner for Precinct 3 Phyllis James said Morelan’s tenacity and drive have made her someone James considers a mentor.

James said Morelan taught her to “Stay involved, and to take a stand for people and issues.” James said Morelan also taught her that one is never too old make a difference.

When Morelan turned 100 in 2021, the city of Whitesboro proclaimed April 24 as Liz Morelan Day.

The proclamation also noted that she had worked outside of her home and community work. Morelan was employed with Tinker Air Force Base and then Dalhart Air Force Base in personnel, later with the city of Whitesboro as city secretary, and she retired from TXU Electric in 1963. She enjoyed working outside the home though it had been a necessity.

Her early life

Morelan might be part of the fabric of her small community now, but she began her early education in Oklahoma schools and later at Southeastern Oklahoma State University where she was named Homecoming Queen her freshman year. A proclamation read into the city of Whitesboro records said that while attending the university, she met the love of her life, the late John Morelan, at a dance. They were married on June 25, 1941. They had one son, James, three grandchildren, three great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.

The couple lived in their home near Lake Texoma for more than 50 years. She recalled that back when they first saw the place, the Denison Dam had just opened, and they could see the lake from her front yard over the tops of the trees that lined the shore.

“We knew from the minute we saw that dam and the trickle (of water) there. I have a picture of my little son in his little red shorts wadding in the very first water that was at the dam,” she said in an interview on her 101st birthday.

Longevity

Attributing clean living to her ability to continue celebrating impressive birthdays, she said one has to find a balance in life and for her that meant no alcohol except for a birthday margarita. She eats healthy food. She never smoked. She also drinks plenty of water and tries to limit her coffee consumption. A staff member at the Rehability Center said even at 104, Morelan still looks forward to her coffee treats from Starbucks.

Her mind is still an inquisitive, but she is not a big fan of digital. She loved computers when they first came out, but she isn’t on social media and doesn’t plan to be.

Frankly, she finds the way people act with cell phones to be more than a little rude when they are at meetings or a meal and pay more attention to their phones than what is going on in the room with them.

Politics

Her passion for politics started early. She was just 16 years old, and not even old enough to vote, when she started passing out flyers and cards and knocking on doors. Moreland said, “It’s just something that I absolutely love doing.”

Since then, she has worked on countless local campaigns.

“My mother thought I had lost my mind because she could care less,” she said. “She would vote but that was all she did.”

She has worked on campaigns for all political parties and has enjoyed getting to know those people through the years.

History Club

She worked with a history club in Vernon for ten years. Then she joined the Whitesboro History Club after moving to Grayson County. She happily put together a 2003 program for local veterans.

“This is my program I was so proud of,” she said. There was 300 and something people there. I had veterans from every conflict. It was the best thing that I’ve ever done.”

In addition to that work, she is also very proud of her work with the History Club to get the Butterfield Overland Mail Stage Route designated as a national historical trail.

“Someone someplace, I think it might have been Larry (Phillips) said that all of this was Liz Morelan’s idea. The first time anybody had ever paid me a compliment on all of the things that I have done all of my life. I am telling you I just could not believe it,” she said of the group’s visit to Grayson County commissioners court back in 2019.

“I kept saying in my prayers at night, ‘Lord please let me stay a little longer so I can finish it and see it opened,” she said.

The trail, which is nearly 3,000 miles long, was used by the Butterfield Overland Mail to deliver mail and passengers from St. Louis and Memphis to San Francisco from 1858-1861 via horsedrawn stagecoaches. The route went through both Sherman and Whitesboro.

The city of Sherman hosted the first historical marker designating the trail in 1936. It was moved to the lawn of the Grayson County Courthouse in 2013. The city of Whitesboro unveiled special signage about the trail in 2008 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the trail.

Though Morelan appreciates people complimenting her on the project, she was quick to point out that a lot of other people worked on it and she never refers to it as her project, but a project that the club has been able to do.

I couldn’t get along without my friends. If they can’t get here in person, they call.”

She said she is especially thankful for Dan Eakin, Pat Davis, and Bobbie Erwin,

“They are the most faithful three people you will ever know in your life.”