Nearly 100 years old, Helen Spruill has lived an independent life, one that has enabled her to live a long and productive life.
Helen was born in Heard County on September 14, 1924. She grew up on a farm, the first of several that she would live on throughout her life. She said life on the farm taught her “so much” about everyday life.
“I try to stay active, I want to be independent and I would say I've tried to live a good life,” Spruill said. “I don't drink, I don't smoke, I've always worked, I read a lot and I enjoy spending time with friends.”
She always worked hard. She put her all into everything she did. She attended Centralhatchee High School, where she was an honor roll student and was named student of the year. But it wasn't until long before high school that Helen knew what she wanted to do with her career.
“When I was in the third grade, my sister got pneumonia and the county doctor, the only doctor in the county, came to our house and performed surgery on her,” Spruill said. “Then a VISTA nurse came, and this nurse came and was just so kind, and it made me realize I wanted to go into nursing.”
Helen attended West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia) for a year and then transferred to the Emory School of Nursing. She graduated in 1946. While she was at Emory, World War II broke out. Helen did not go overseas, but many of the more experienced nurses went overseas, so Spruill and her classmates ran the hospital. They went to school during the day and ran the hospital at night. She worked in nursing for over 30 years.
“Nursing has changed a lot,” Spruill said. “It's like a different time. We didn't have computers. It was really hard. All my records had to be transferred. I had to write everything out. I had to stay in a dorm on campus. We had two weeks off in the summer and everyone was working. Just being away from home for Christmas was really hard, especially at the beginning. But after a while, I got used to it.”
“I had to take the trolley to get home, which was about a quarter mile,” Helen continued. “I'd have to take the trolley to downtown, walk to the bus stop, get on the bus, drive to Carrollton, and have someone pick me up in Carrollton. I live just south of here, so I'd have to take the same route home. It was just too inconvenient.”
Helen and her classmates grew very close through all their experiences. For 50 years, they met for reunions every two to five years. They held reunions all over the United States. One year, the group held a reunion on a cruise ship, which sparked Spruill's love of travel.
“Well, I love to travel,” she said. “I love being on boats. My favorite trip was taking a cruise from New England to Canada. It was so beautiful. That was one of my favorite trips.”
The person Helen most wanted to travel with was her husband, Lewis. They married in February 1947. They originally met in high school. Lewis passed away at Christmas in 2016 at the age of 90. Lewis worked for an oil company and often traveled for work, sometimes away for a week. Helen had to balance her work with raising their two sons, Larry and Duane.
Apart from travelling, Helen said she loved to try everything. She was an avid reader, especially murder mysteries, and estimates she read over 100 books during the COVID-19 lockdown. She was also passionate about baking, and would make treats for friends and family for any occasion, including scout meetings and school events. She said she loved to bake for her grandchildren.
After leaving the care industry, Spruill joined her family's oil business, a business she said she had always been interested in. In 1994, her family sold the business, allowing the Spruills to move and travel more freely.
“We moved. We had a house in Florida,” Spruill said. “As soon as school was out we took the grandkids. I picked up Larry's three kids and we took off to Panama City. We had a great time. The kids came back happy and told Larry how I'd driven there. After a while we decided we wanted to move to the mountains. So we bought a condo and moved there. The idea was we'd spend six months in the mountains and six months in Florida. But we sold everything else and continued to live there.”
More than all her hobbies and experiences, she credits her family for getting her through it all. Family is a blessing and joy to her, Spruill says. She's been able to watch her grandchildren grow up, and she has eight great-grandchildren. Spruill says faith is also important. She is the oldest member of First Baptist Church. Although she can no longer drive to church, she still listens to services on the radio.
Ms Spruill said she strives to do her best and live an independent life, and that she wants to use the time she has left to be able to say she has helped and made an impact on someone. She said she wants everyone to be able to live as long as she has.
“I think everyone should get an education and learn to be independent,” Helen said. “…Everyone should treat others the way they want to be treated, stay active, and know that there is something to learn every day.”
