107 years of youth | Corewell Health

It is quite an achievement to live over 100 years old.

And Evelyn Hamstra knows the trick.

I recently turned 107 years old. And she celebrated the best way she knows how – with birthday cake.

party time

The Evelyn hospice team realized that 107 was a milestone.

Once they arrived for her upcoming birthday, the team worked closely with the facility’s staff to give Evelyn a celebration that would be meaningful to her.

Hospice was able to use memorial funds donated by the community for the purpose of improving the quality of life and offering special additions to patients in hospice care.

A group of about a dozen friends and family along with her care team and hospice providers from Corewell Health have gathered to wish her well.

Pink and purple streamers and colorful balloons lined the hallway and lit up the door to her room at SKLD Zeeland, a skilled nursing facility where Corewell Health staff members often provide care to patients.

She also received a bouquet of pink roses and bright yellow sunflowers.

“Evelyn thinks about times gone by daily,” said Sandra Auxerre, hospice assistant and granddaughter of Evelyn. “She grew up on a farm and said she saw flocks of chickens in her room almost every day.”

Emily Dorman, a mortuary nurse case manager, said, “I’ll ask her how you feel? And she says 106.”

Evelyn wore a Christmas crown atop her head while the team sang “Happy Birthday.”

Then they topped her favorite cake into angel food.

The secret of longevity

“I never thought I’d make it to 107,” she said.

Not long ago, Evelyn needed three liters of blood and was unconscious for two days.

Her family and friends came to visit because they did not know how much time she had left.

“They thought I was gone,” said Evelyn. Then I sat down and said, ‘What’s going on? “And here I am today.”

Evelyn and her husband, Ted, followed in their family’s footsteps as farmers.

“We didn’t do much Christmas at the farm,” she said. “Not like they do now. We had two little boys and they always had something for their birthday. We had a cake too, but it was too tall.”

Evelyn said she is a vegetarian and has never smoked cigarettes or drunk alcohol. She said she believes this may have been part of her living a long and healthy life.

She was also raised as a Seventh-day Adventist, and spent the seventh day of every week in rest.

Her faith is important to her, and she believes that taking these days off may have helped her live for many years.

“My father lived to be 98 and my mother was old too,” she said.

Bonita Hamstra, Evelyn’s niece, said that Evelyn used to lead a team of horses across the ranch and always wore a dress, never pants.

Her family did not have electricity when she was young. They lit the rooms with kerosene lanterns.

“We’d listen to the radio and enjoy a show or two,” Evelyn said. “I can still photograph them.”

Wonderful blessing

One of the common themes among visitors to Evelyn was gratitude.

“We feel very honored to be able to get to know you,” said her niece Bonita.

A volunteer from years past caught wind of the celebration and stopped by to wish Evelyn well, too.

“I used to volunteer here before COVID,” said Marion Woodbury, a former volunteer. “I always left feeling better than when I got there. Evelyn is the most optimistic and hopeful person I have ever known.”

She’s been making a special card for Evelyn every year for her birthday, and this year was no different.

“I know she can’t see him anymore, but she can touch him. And that means something to me.”

On the handmade card, she wrote:

Said 107^y Evelyn’s birthday

I knew:

1,284 months

5,583 weeks

39,082 days

5,627,720 minutes

And the blessings are endless!

And what a wonderful blessing it is to all of us who have had the pleasure of knowing you.

Evelyn married Ted in 1937 and he has since died. One of their two children is still alive.

They later had eight grandchildren, many great-grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren.

Evelyn plans to spend the rest of her days at SKLD Nursing Center in Zeeland, Michigan, where both the facility and hospice teams love and know her well.