Resident shares memories of her 100 years of life

Sporting a crown of flowers, Henderson resident Lily Koch Fletcher was treated like royalty as she celebrated her 100th birthday March 7 at Sunset Station, 1301 W. Sunset Road.

The casino provided Fletcher, a frequent guest, with a slot machine-themed cake and bouquets of flowers. She also received recognition from Sen. Harry Reid.

“Lily is a very independent woman. She still does her own washing and makes her own bed,” said Bette Jo Peisker, Fletcher’s youngest sister. “This party is a time to celebrate. We did all the work so she could just show up and enjoy it.”

Born March 11, 1915, in Lumberton, N.M., Fletcher is the third-oldest of eight children. Her father worked in the coal mines and owned a general store while her mother tended the house and children.

“My dad had to haul five or six drums of water from the river to boil so we could drink it,” Peisker said. “We had a galvanized tub that we bathed in once a week, and we washed our clothes using scrub boards and a ringer.

“My dad made a ‘power plant’ using about 50 batteries that he wired into our house just so we could have electricity.”

With nearly 20 years separating the sisters, Peisker said she viewed Fletcher as a second mom.

“My sister has always been the hardest worker out of all the children,” Peisker said. “My mother got sick after my brother and I were born, and she ended up in the hospital for a while. Lily took care of us both so much that we started calling her ‘Mom.’ ”

When Fletcher’s father’s employment contract in New Mexico ended, he moved his family to Henderson to work for the Basic Magnesium Inc. plant. He later opened a bowling alley and pool hall.

“I moved with my dad and brother in 1942 to look for a house,” Fletcher said. “My dad went back for the rest of our family in 1943.”

Peisker said she thought her dad was punishing the family by moving them to the hot and dry desert.

“It was July or August, and the mountains looked so bare,” she said. “We lived off Oklahoma Drive, and the house had a swamp cooler. The only patch of grass we had was under the swamp cooler where the water ran off, but we loved that patch of grass.”

For a short time, Fletcher assembled parachutes for a manufacturer on Nellis Air Force Base.

“When she finished, her boss told her she had to test them,” Peisker said. “She asked what that meant, and he told her she had to jump from a plane. Knowing she’s a perfectionist, she would have been fine, but she’s a smart girl and quit.”

In the mid-’40s, Fletcher met her first husband, Bill Koch, whom she tried to marry at a local Catholic church, but the priest refused. So the couple moved and married in China Lake, Calif.

“After she got married, she always helped our family financially, even if she wasn’t close,” Peisker said. “She took care of everyone and made sure we all ate and had clothes to wear. She always remembered us during the holidays and our birthdays.”

While in China Lake, Fletcher picked up a government job making propellants for the Navy. She played a vital role in “preparing and testing the compositions” of bombs, according to a document from the Naval Weapons Center.

“We nicknamed the bomb Tiny Tim,” Fletcher said. “It was very dangerous, but I enjoyed my work.”

Peisker said Fletcher didn’t talk much about her work because it was confidential. She didn’t know any details until she researched Fletcher’s name online.

“I Googled her, and I found all this stuff about making bombs,” Peisker said. “When I asked her why she didn’t tell me, she just asked how I found out. Everything is still top secret to her. When she takes an oath, she takes it forever.”

Wrapped in her work, Fletcher didn’t learn how to drive until she was about 50. Her first car was a Chevrolet Malibu.

“I was afraid I wasn’t going to be a good driver, but I did fine,” Fletcher said. “I drove until I was 97. I loved my Mercedes.”

After retiring in 1971, Fletcher returned to Henderson with her husband Bill; however, he died shortly after they moved.

“She was really devastated. She really loved him,” Peisker said. “Then she met a man named Francis Fletcher who happened to be from China Lake and knew all the same people she did. They naturally enjoyed each other and had a happy marriage.”

During her life, Fletcher experienced the Great Depression, World Wars I and II, the ratification of seven amendments to the U.S. Constitution and 17 presidents.

She’s seen Elvis Presley become the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. She also remembers the exact moment she heard of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

“I was working, and I was about to eat my lunch,” Fletcher said. “I heard it on the radio, and it was such tragic news. I was a big fan of him.”

Fletcher planned to celebrate her actual birthday with her four stepchildren.

“The key to happiness in life is to be happy with yourself,” she said. “Life is what you make of it.”

Contact Henderson View reporter Caitlyn Belcher at cbelcher@viewnews.com or 702-383-0403.