“I don’t feel any older,” Barbara Blakey Stephens said after celebrating her 100th birthday on Saturday.
The birthday girl made sure she looked her best during her birthday brunch at Mimi’s Cafe in Valencia, where dozens of close relatives and friends arrived to celebrate the momentous occasion. Some of them even flew in from Idaho, she said.
As she reflected on a century of life, the vivacious “Bobbie,” as she is called by her loved ones, takes pride in remembering everything she has experienced throughout her journey.
Blakey Stephens was born on July 30, 1924, in Snohomish, Washington, just six years after the end of World War I.
“I never, ever, really thought about it. I thought about it when my older brother reached 100 and I said, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll reach 100,’ but it was just kind of a passing thought. I never really dwelled on it,” she said.
Blakey Stephens moved to the Santa Clarita Valley in 1965 with her first husband, Blake Victor Blakey, and three children: Bonnie Lynn, Blake Victor Jr., also known as “Patch,” and Becky Maureen.
While her family began in the suburban valley, the wife and mom of three also became a teacher for a generation of students who attended Castaic Elementary School and Castaic Middle School. Blakey Stephens taught for a total of 37 years, including 24 years at the Castaic district.
On occasion, she still runs into people who were once her students and are now fully grown adults who are parents, and some even grandparents, she said.
Throughout the years, her family became bigger. Her children married and grandchildren eventually became part of the picture. Blakey Stephens also endured loss when Blake Victor died in 1996 and Bonnie Lynn in 2019.
But Blakey Stephens continued to live life, surrounded by her children, and grandchildren, and eventually fell in love with John Stephens, who was also a widower. The two married on Valentine’s Day in 1998 and have been inseparable ever since.
Although Blakey Stephens’ life slowed down a bit, she still performs daily activities that keep her busy and healthy.
She no longer bakes cookies like she once did, or ride her bike around Newhall with her husband because he is wheelchair-bound, but she still wakes up every morning to doll herself up before the caregiver arrives and warms up two cups of cappuccinos to enjoy before heading out to run errands, she said.
“My mom still drives herself to the market, to Walmart, and to the bank. She’s very capable of paying all of her bills and doing all of those things,” Becky Briggs said. “She took her driver’s license last fall of 2023, and she only missed two, so she is an A-plus driver.”
Briggs steps in for additional assistance when her mother and stepfather, who she refers to as “Dad,” have to go to the doctor.
“I think sometimes they’d like to skip those appointments, but, you know, I’m here, so they have to go,” she said.
“My mother is an inspiration, and I’m so thankful that I can continue to enjoy her as my mom and as my friend,” Briggs added. “She’s just probably the most wonderful and youngest 100-year-old that I know.”
Blakey Stephens added: “I’m very grateful to still be alive, and I hope it goes on for several more years.”
