After defeating COVID-19, a grandma turns 100

Evelyn Smith had a lot to celebrate Saturday. Just after defeating COVID-19, she turned 100. Five generations of family members showed up outside her nursing home in a car parade. They could only talk to her through the window, due to COVID protocols, but the joy at seeing family members she hadn't seen in almost a year was apparent. Evelyn Smith's granddaughter, Kim Young, said her grandmother is the matriarch of the family and has been the strongest member. Usually, Young said that Evelyn Smith has been the calm one during the pandemic, reminding the family that soon everything will be over. But when she got COVID, Young said Evelyn Smith didn't think she was going to survive. However, after three weeks quarantined at Life Care Center, Evelyn Smith defeated COVID-19 just in time for her 100th birthday. Young said her grandmother is the strongest woman ever. She said her grandmother raised her and has been a constant in everyone's life. Young said they wanted to do something to celebrate both her recovery and her birthday. She said Evelyn Smith is back to her normal self and was thrilled by the surprise parade from her family. She met the newest member of her family — a newborn girl — whom she hadn't met yet. Her 5-year-old great-grandson, Atticus, excitedly introduced his new sister to his great-grandma. They came up from Florida to surprise Evelyn Smith outside her window. All the family members wore masks throughout the outside visit. As grandmas do, Evelyn Smith fussed over the baby, making sure that she stayed warm and bundled up outside. In the Smith family, it's not too uncommon for people to live past 100. Evelyn Smith's son, Walter Smith, said a cousin lived to 107 and another relative lived to 105. One of Evelyn's Smith's siblings lived to 105, and another sibling lived to 102. She also has a younger sibling who is 99. Evelyn Smith was born in Fargo, North Dakota. She met and married an Army man in 1942 in Salem, Oregon. After Walter Smith was born — the eldest of three — the family moved from base to base. The family finally settled in Bay Village, before moving to Cleveland and then Sheffield Lake. Walter Smith still goes to talk with his mother outside the nursing home window every week. Family members spoke to Evelyn Smith on a phone. A nurse poked through the door and said Evelyn Smith was overwhelmed and excited to see her family gathered outside. Contact Laina Yost at (440) 329-7121 or lyost@chroniclet.com.