It was three years after Anna Stoehr was born in 1900 that the
Wright Brothers piloted the first powered airplane. The supercentenarian,
who is the oldest Minnesotan and one of the oldest living people in the world,
has witnessed tremendous changes, from World Wars to the Great Depression and,
after women’s suffrage, the right to vote.
As she nears her 114th birthday on Oct. 15, Stoehr is learning
to use an iPad, where she enjoys FaceTime video chats and viewing photographs.
Because she uses a hearing aid, she feels that “it’s easier to communicate
using an iPad because you can see people’s faces and understand them more
clearly.”
Many of those chats are with her 85-year-old son Harlan, who
says, “My mother was always curious about things.”
Born of German immigrant parents as the second of 11 children,
at birth Stoehr was frail and not expected to live. She thrived on farms in
Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Minnesota by staying active and independent.
After her husband’s death in 1998, she lived alone on their farm
until age 112 ½, when she moved to a Plainview, Minnesota, independent living
facility, where she still lights up a room with conversation. The best modern
convenience? “Electricity. Because it gave us lights and water in the
house.” On voting for presidents: “Only one of my men got elected: Dwight
Eisenhower.”
The idea for the iPad came about when Harlan upgraded from a flip
phone to a smartphone so he could access his email and text his grandchildren.
Speaking with Joseph Ramirez from authorized Verizon Wireless retailer Wireless
Zone, he mentioned his mother was nearly 114 and lived more than two hours
away.
Harlan shared a story of Stoehr talking to her grandson and his
family via Skype when they were overseas right from the comfort of her kitchen
table. Coupled with the fact that Harlan’s wife Marlene had an iPad, Ramirez
suggested trialing the device with Stoehr.
“I asked her if she would be interested in an iPad,” Harlan
relates. “She asked, ‘What’s that? Could I take pictures with it?”
Wireless Zone agreed to loan Stoehr the iPad and provide free
service and training leading up to her next birthday. “She wants to hurry and
learn how to call out so she needn’t wait for people to call in,” says
Harlan.
Soon, the supercentenarian will celebrate her 114th birthdayduring two celebrations with more than 150 relatives and friends, and a cake
with the correct number of candles – an annual tradition since she turned 98.
Her three surviving children will be there, as well as 12 of her 25
grandchildren.
Stoehr’s optimistic spirit and remarkable mind sustain her. “My
mother always thought that if things aren’t going well today they will be
better tomorrow,” Harlan says.
Watch Anna Stoehr’s story above to learn more about her life and
experiences with her new iPad.
