BYRON CENTER, Mich. — Standing at 107 years old, Beryl Vanderleest is still kicking.
Beryl has loved and lost — she has seen life and death — and she has written her own memoir reflecting on how life used to be in the good old days.
Beryl was born on July 31st, 1917.
Beryl had four siblings, and she is a mother to three children, one of whom has died.
She has lived through it all. According to her grand daughter, Dana McKay, "She’s a walking history book.”
Beryl told me, "Everything is different now than when I was young.”
Beryl's last year of school was eighth grade, yet she still had big dreams to become a writer.
"I enjoyed writing and that’s why I thought that if I wanted to write, I could write about my life,” Beryl said.
At 80 years old, Beryl received her first computer.
Then, over the next decade, she wrote a memoir called "My Life."
Beryl even reflects on the tough times.
Dana said, “My great grand mother would heat up bricks and then wrap those in newspaper and put that in their bed — that’s what they had for heat at night.”
As Beryl remarked, "Our family loved each other and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Beryl's daughter, Carol DeYoung, said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do without her someday.”
With over a century under her belt, Beryl's love is her lasting legacy.
Dana said, “She’s got a lot of people that love her, and I think that love is only mirrored back into what she gives to everybody else.”
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube
