Sauk Rapids woman celebrates 100th birthday

by Steven Wright

news@thenewsleaders.com

When Jean Peterson of Sauk Rapids was born in 1915, Babe Ruth was hitting his first home run for the Boston Red Sox and Einstein was busy working on his theory of relativity.

Now, a century later, Peterson is celebrating her own big milestone – her 100th birthday.

Born in Royalton, Peterson spent her younger years playing with her four siblings on her family farm and discovering a passion and talent for music at a very young age.

The Newsleader spoke with Jean Peterson’s daughter Gloria Moran who was happy to share her mother’s story.

“Our family has a hard time believing she’s 100,” Moran said. “She’s just like the Energizer Bunny.”

Peterson celebrated her birthday in April by visiting her two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren in Tioga, N.D.

“She loves road trips,” Moran said. “She always jokes, ‘I think we should just keep driving.”

When Peterson isn’t on the road, she finds her home at Good Shepherd Community in Sauk Rapids. This is where her passion for music and her natural talent can really be explored. There’s a piano in Peterson’s room and hardly a day goes by where she doesn’t sit down and play.

“You give her a request and she’ll play it, or she gets a tune in her head and sits down at the piano to compose something,” Moran said. The most amazing aspect of Peterson’s musical talent is that she plays everything by ear.  When she was two and barely able to walk, Peterson’s sister became sick before a piano recital at school. Without hesitation and with the help of a stepladder to assist her in climbing up the piano bench, Peterson recited the piano tune flawlessly by ear, only going off of what she heard her sister practicing. Peterson would play at various school events and weddings throughout her life, always bringing her charm and bubbly personality wherever she went. Even at the age of 100, Peterson is still just as vibrant and bubbly.

“She’s still sharp as a tack, and loves to play tricks and jokes,” Moran added. There’s no special daily routine, or secret diet Peterson uses to maintain her longevity. When asked on her birthday what her secret was to living so long, Peterson said, “Just keep going and don’t ever give up.”