Let’s Stop and Appreciate the Extraordinary Lives of Elder Women
Angela Lansbury, Virginia McLaurin and their contemporaries’ histories are worth knowing
At year’s end, it is customary in our culture to think of those who have passed away during the year and reflect on their contributions to us. And this year, America lost some great “dames” whose long, eventful lives merit attention.
Famously, there was the multi-talented Irish-English-American performer Angela Lansbury, who died in October, just days away from reaching age 97.
The actor, singer, and dancer was beloved by audiences and admired by royalty. Her artistry and philanthropy were rewarded by the late Queen Elizabeth II of England in 2014, when the queen honored Lansbury with the formal appointment of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. An actual Dame.
Late-career sensation
Lansbury achieved her widest fame starting in her late 50s and extending into her 60s. That was when she played the fictional role of author-sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the hit CBS series Murder, She Wrote. The show aired from 1984 to 1996 with Lansbury as the main character. Would that we all had such career heights at that age.
Sure, Lansbury had been well-regarded in earlier decades for work on stage and screen. But the audiences for those venues could not approach the millions who watched her on American primetime television (when there were far fewer channels, making it was easier for a program or network to gain a sizable market share).
It’s not clear that Lansbury would have become such a big American celebrity had it not been for World War II. The actress had been born in London, England, the daughter of an Irish film actress and British politician, and one of four children. Angela was still young, when, in 1940, her then-widowed mother decided to take her three youngest children (the fourth was a married adult) to New York to escape Nazi Germany’s bombing of London. The Blitz literally turned the family into war refugees.
Angela, who had already begun studying to become a performer in England during her teens, enrolled in a school in New York for the dramatic arts. She started working at age 16 (she represented herself as 19). Her career lasted into the current century with roles on Broadway, on the London stage, and in singing roles for animated Disney blockbusters such as Beauty and the Beast.
Centenarian celebrity
Another American we recall for her dancing, more than her name, died November 14, in Maryland, near Washington, DC. Virginia McLaurin was the centenarian who was photographed dancing with then-President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House back in 2016. McLaurin stood 4-feet,11-inches, and relied upon a cane to walk, but couldn’t help but break out into a shimmy when she met the couple in person. As the daughter of a Black sharecropper, she rejoiced. “I thought I would never live to get in the White House, and I tell you, I am so happy.”
McLaurin was already 106 years old in 2016 when she got her invitation to the White House to take part in a commemoration of Black History Month. She had been married and widowed as a teen and worked in a variety of service jobs including laundress, house cleaner and nanny, and raised her own family. What caught the attention of White House planners, though, were the 24 years McLaurin spent as a volunteer foster grandparent in her community. She helped elementary school children with their lessons, as well. No wonder Black progress was personal to her. “A Black president. A Black wife. And I’m here to celebrate Black history,” she said.
White House press coverage and social media exposure tied to that event briefly launched McLaurin into the digital stratosphere. The video of her dance with the Obamas got 70 million views on the White House Facebook page.
Upon her passing at age 113, the Obamas tweeted: “Rest in peace, Virginia. We know you’re up there dancing.”
Trendsetter in Tampa
And Joyce Karpay, a Florida resident who was not nationally known, but reached prominence in Tampa’s social circles, passed away during the fall in a noteworthy manner. The 87-year-old died in early October, her obituary says, “suddenly and without notice or suffering…during her Pilates class.”
What? Yes. During Pilates class. The former model, businesswoman, matriarch and local philanthropist always kept a busy schedule and loved being active, her obituary notes.
Philanthropy was a “spiritual and heartfelt passion” to Karpay, and Judaism inspired her, according to her obituary. She was born in Tampa, Fla., in 1935, and developed a lifelong interest in Israel (formally founded in 1948) starting in her teens. She traveled there seven times.
Favorite causes and legacies
At home in Florida, Karpay joined and supported numerous Jewish religious, social and cultural organizations. But she did not limit her activities only to causes connected to her religion. She supported area colleges, youth organizations, anti-poverty causes, and performing arts. She loved arts and social activities, too, and was considered a trendsetter, according to her obituary, which also states that she “could be described as a social butterfly with depth.”
Mourners were advised that they could make memorial donations in Karpay’s honor, and that one worthwhile cause would be hurricane relief for those harmed by powerful Hurricane Ian, which tore across Florida only days before her passing.
Angela Lansbury gave to organizations that help with addiction and recovery, and to AIDS research — beginning when the disease was still stigmatized, media accounts noted. She also backed groups that provide support for women affected by domestic violence and funds for performers struggling financially.
McLaurin was able to receive some help in her final years and still help others. After she became known for her White House visit, a fundraising campaign was launched that helped move her into a better apartment and receive dental care she had not been able to afford.
She had also been without her government photo ID since a purse-snatching incident years earlier. She had not been able to get a replacement photo ID partly because there was no formal birth certificate issued when she was born — which is both a requirement in some places and a practical challenge shared among some of the nation’s oldest citizens. McLaurin’s situation prompted the adoption of a new local regulation within the District of Columbia that helped McLaurin and other residents over the age of 70. The new regulation broadened the list of documents that people can present, and have accepted, to get a new ID, The Washington Post reported. In McLaurin’s case, replacement identification meant that she could board an airplane and fly to other cities if she wanted to accept new social invitations coming her way.
Her celebrity also meant that some people came to see her in the Washington metro area, including as the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. She shared those visits with children.
There is so much to appreciate in these stories. It makes you wonder if there are not more incredible “dames” (official or not) out there, born in the 1930s or 1920s or maybe even earlier? Women from all ethnicities, backgrounds, and regions, with legacies that certainly include their family roles, but that also influenced broader society and that illuminate details of our collective history.
Let’s do more to ask about their stories. We — especially those of us with a few decades of life experience and understanding ourselves — are enriched when we pay tribute to elder women who have achieved and endured.
