A grateful Pennsylvania grandma met her 100th great-grandchild in person and even held the baby in her arms shortly before celebrating her 100th birthday.
Marguerite Koller, who grew up as an only child, said she's quite lucky to have such a life and still be able to witness milestone events in her centennial year, considering she had not planned on having any kids. When Koller was in high school, she considered entering a convent, but her future husband, William, talked her out of it.
Today, her life is a celebration after 11 kids, 56 grandkids, and 100 great-grandchildren. Koller said that she dreamed of having a big family since being an only child can be lonely, per the New York Post.
Baby Koller William was supposed to be great-grandchild 99th
Christine Balster, the baby's mother, said her son was supposed to be the 99th great-grandchild. However, she was overdue for more than a week, eclipsing a cousin who was also due to give birth.
Balster and her husband, Patrick, decided to name their son after their great-grandmother and will be nicknamed Kole. They also gave him William as his second name because it felt natural. Thus, baby Koller William will also carry the honor of being named after his great-grandparents.
William died in 2008, leaving the Pennsylvania grandma on her own. But Koller continues to be out and about, according to another grandson, Greg Stokes. Balster said that their grandmother is such an inspiration to the family. She described her as a "lovely, sweet [and] strong lady."
Most of the family's four generations still live in the same community in Blue Bell. The family is well-known since they run a business, Koller Funeral Home, which is now managed by one of Koller's children.
In a 2015 interview with 6ABC, Koller said she has never missed a baptism, birthday, or graduation party for any of her kids, grandkids, and great-grandchildren. The grandmother is celebrating her milestone birthday in a few months.
Ohio couple celebrates turning 100 together
Meanwhile, in July, Ohio couple June and Hubert Malicote had a joint birthday party for their 100th birthday. More than 130 people attended the celebration at the Eaton Road Church of God, where the pair first met in 1941.
Both were born in 1922, June is ten days older than Hubert, and they have been married for 79 years. They have three children, seven grandkids, and 11 great-grandchildren.
Shortly after meeting, Hubert enlisted in the Navy during World War II. Realizing that time was moving fast, the couple decided to get married in 1943 in the same church where they met. Hubert was deployed to San Francisco and then to Hawaii at Pearl Harbor. He concluded his service in the Navy in 1945 and reunited with his wife to raise a family.
The couple said they had shared a "very, very happy marriage," all these years, per Fox News. Their daughter, Jo, believes that the secret to her parents' longevity is that they have always kept an active life managing their own farm and growing their own food.
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