KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Friends and family gathered for a unique celebration on Saturday for a Kansas Citian who turned 105 years old.
“She’s not like your regular 105-year-old grandmother, if there is such," said Mark Byrd, grandson of Mason Byrd.
Mason Byrd's legacy stretches five generations, including up to 200 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren.
“Well, they call me the matriarch, and that makes me important," Mason Byrd said.
She claims her secret to longevity is love.
“The key to a long life is to take it easy, love your neighbor, love yourself," she said. "I think love yourself comes first.”
Mason Byrd keeps an active lifestyle as well. She attends two water aerobics classes a week, cooks, does puzzles and wins Words With Friends.
"She beats everybody," joked Otona Dahmer, daughter of Mason Byrd. "I stopped playing with her because she beats me."
The 105-year-old continues to love life.
“We laugh all the time, you know, she’s a very happy person; I think that’s what keeps her alive," Dahmer said.
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
