At 100 Years Old, Judge Jean Murrel Capers is Still Trying to do it Her Way

I saw the judge moments before she saw me.

Her eyes where shut and she was waving her hands in the air. She was passionately singing along with a group of a dozen seniors. It was a song from the 1940s that I had never heard. The joyful noise created by the lively group wasn't what you would call easy listening, but the room was warm and inviting. The afternoon sing-along session at Judson Manor felt like a retirement home tribute to a bygone era.

When she finally spotted me, Judge Jean Murrell Capers smiled and hurriedly reached for her walker. The sudden movement made this former tennis champ appear unsteady, though. Sometimes, she still attempts to move too fast. Her mind and her body have yet to come to a firm agreement on the realities of her age.

She turned 100 years old Friday, and I visited to write a festive column about the event. The judge was beautiful as ever. She appeared happy. I told her as much.

But moments into our conversation she told me that my observation couldn't be further from the truth. She said she was depressed and considers herself a "kidnapping victim" and an "unhappy ward" of the county.

The judge can be fairly dramatic, and her humor sometimes runs surprisingly dark, but the smile had left her face. I could tell she was serious. She was about to teach me another important lesson.

It is a lesson about a final fight for dignity and the independence of a senior citizen who has outlived everyone in her circle except Alice Murrell Rose, her 96-year-old "baby sister."

Life as the judge knew it ended last month. That's when people who care about this Cleveland treasure realized that she needed help, even if she did not accept that fact. They sought that help at Cuyahoga County Probate Court, which appointed a guardian for her.

At an instant, the former Cleveland Municipal Court judge's decision-making authority was taken away and given to someone else. Her guardian now approves decisions as basic as where she lives and when she can venture out into public.

That's what the former Cleveland Municipal Court judge now wrestles with after a lifetime of complete control and making decisions for others. She is not used to decisions being made for her. She is used to coming and going as she wants.

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At 100 Years Old, Judge Jean Murrel Capers is Still Trying to do it Her Way:  Phillip Morris