BRADY FLANIGANStaff Writer

If there’s a point when it’s useless to keep counting, Grace Caps isn’t there yet. Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2025, marked her 105^th birthday, and she celebrated it with an elegance that only comes from 104 birthdays’ worth of practice.

Grace was born into an era almost unimaginable to the 99.73% of Americans under 100 years old. It was just two years after the close of World War I. The ’20s were roaring, and Grace’s mom hadn’t even earned the right to vote yet.

Born on a Kansas dairy farm 19 years before The Wizard of Oz whisked Dorothy off to a technicolor dreamland, Grace’s childhood was set against the sepia reality of the Great Depression. Life on the farm wasn’t about chasing rainbows. It was about weathering storms, and she credits her family’s faith with getting her through it.

When asked if turning 105 made her feel older, Grace shrugged, chuckled, and said, “Just one day.”

It’s an understated wisdom that defines her. When asked for her secret to a long and happy life, she replied, “Take each day as it comes, and make it a happy one.”

Grace has been a resident of Morning Pointe Senior Living in Tullahoma since 2016, and it was there that her birthday was celebrated. The festivities brought out friends, family, and even Tullahoma Mayor Lynn Sebourn, who officially declared Jan. 9, 2025, as “Grace Caps Day.” He presented Grace with a certificate of recognition on behalf of the city’s 20,000 residents, honoring her life and legacy.

For Grace, the moment wasn’t about titles or declarations. It was about the faces gathered in the room—friends, family, neighbors—all of them part of the 105 years she’s taken one day at a time.