Gertrude Stern (left) poses with her daughter, Jaclyn Beaulieu, at her 110th birthday celebration Thursday, Feb. 27, at The Atriums Senior Living.
By Barbara Bayer / Contributing Editor
A room filled with family, friends and dignitaries at The Atriums Senior Living in Overland Park helped Gertrude Stern celebrate her 110th birthday last week.
Asked how it felt to be 110, Stern said, “I don’t feel any different than any other day.”
The celebration was held on Stern’s actual 110th birthday. Among those celebrating with Stern was Overland Park Mayor Carl Gerlach, who proclaimed the day Gertrude Stern Day. During his speech he announced Stern is the oldest known resident of the state of Kansas and the oldest member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.
Stern was born Feb. 27, 1910, in Sioux City, Iowa, and moved to Kansas City when she was 3 years old. After being introduced to the love of her life, Morris M. Stern, they were married in February 1933 by Rabbi Samuel S. Mayerberg. The pair were married for 62 years and the marriage was blessed with three children — daughter Jaclyn Beaulieu, son Phil Stern, both who attended the celebration, and son Neuman Stern, who has passed away.
Since becoming a centenarian, Stern has been profiled by local media outlets including The Chronicle, Mission: Your Hometown Magazine, Fox 4 and KCTV 5. In 2018, Stern served as the Grand Marshall of the Overland Park Fall Festival Parade.
After her children were grown, Stern and her husband enjoyed traveling, including trips with The Shriners, a male fraternal organization that supports Shriners Hospitals for Children®.
“Traveling was always fun. Italy, Switzerland and Austria were among my favorites,” Stern recalled.
Her lifelong passion for sewing led her to volunteer for the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of Johnson County (RSVP) in 1973, the same year the program began in Overland Park. She also volunteered with the Red Cross for 40 years and the Village Presbyterian Sewing Group, making items for hospitals and retirement homes. She is an Honorary Life Member of the Ecumenical Project for International Cooperation (EPIC), which creates agricultural sustainability programs in Latin America.
Prior to moving to The Atriums Senior Living in 2017, Stern was an active member of the Heritage Center at the Jewish Community Center. She exercised there and often ate lunch with her friends. She still regularly enjoys exercising and participating in the senior programs at The Atriums.
When The Chronicle originally interviewed Stern in 2014, she said she enjoyed attending services at B’nai Jehudah. Last week she said she is no longer there often because, “it’s hard for me to get around.”
Over the years Stern has been an avid reader. She said she doesn’t read as often as she once did, but still enjoys a “Danielle Steel love story.”
Two years ago, at her 108th birthday celebration, she told KCTV 5 the secret to her long life.
“Be nice to people. Take your vitamins and have a good attitude.”
In The Chronicle’s 2014 article, Stern attributed her long, healthy life to “good, clean living.”
“I think God’s just been good to me. I’ve tried to do what was right all my life.”
