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A Pennsylvania lady on the brink of reaching her 100th birthday has recently given birth to her 100th great-grandchild.
In a few short months, Marguerite Koller, age 99, of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, will turn 100.
“I’m just thinking how fortunate I am,” Marguerite told NBC Philadelphia as she cradled the newest member of her family, which includes 11 children and 56 grandkids.
Her family has said in the past that she makes an effort to attend every baptism and graduation, and her granddaughter, Christine Balster, told the local TV station that she has “built an unbelievable legacy spanning generation.”
Marguerite pondered entering a convent and becoming a nun, which nearly prevented the formation of this family.
When she was a student in high school, she applied to enter the local convent, she told 6 ABC in 2015. However, during the early 1940s, she met William Koller, of Manayunk, who she claimed ‘talked me out of it.’
Marguerite knew she desired a big family during the Baby Boom after World War II, when the couple had their first child.
“I want a large family,” she told 6 ABC. I believe that being an only kid is stressful and lonely.
She said that she originally believed she wanted 12 children, but after having them, she was unsure whether she wanted that many.
Instead, she had eleven children over the period of roughly two decades.
They gave her 56 grandkids, who today have 100 great-grandchildren.
Even when her husband passed away in 2008, she credits her large family with keeping her busy and making her feel lucky throughout the holidays.
In 2015, she said, “Everything worked out brilliantly.”