OCEANSIDE — For the sixth time, The Coast News has helped Anne Beversluis celebrate her birthday. This year, she turned 105 Oct. 18 at home, again surrounded by her four generations of her family, daughter and son-in-law; Claire and Lyle Abel, with whom she resides; daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Charles Van Kessler of Encinitas; grandson and wife, Rali and Mary Schwartz, of La Mesa; great-granddaughter Cecila Anne (Cici) and great-grandson, Jason.
A turkey dinner with all the trimmings was served along with birthday cake topped with a 105 candle. Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood also made a birthday visit to Beversluis and presented her with a certificate from the city of Oceanside commemorating her special, along with a Gold City Coin. In addition to being a wonderful mother to three, she is a loving Grandma to six and a great-grandma to 11. Her sister, Theresa Taylor is 93 and lives in Louisiana and they still keep in touch by phone weekly.
“Mom is always cheerful and smiling,” Lyle Able said. “She is always very up to date in her appearance, wanting her hair and makeup to be ‘just right.’
The oldest of three children, Beversluis was born in Paterson, New Jersey Oct. 18, 1909 to Hungarian immigrants, John and Celia Leskowits. She attended school through the eighth grade and even though she wanted to attend high school and become a teacher, her father told her she had to go to work at the Paterson Silk Mills. She worked as a “winder” which meant she wound silk thread to be made into men’s hatbands.
She married John Beversluis in 1934 at “The Little Church Around The Corner” in New York City. They had children, John, Claire, and Linda. Her husband died in 1994 at the age of 87. In 1996, at the invitation of her son-in-law, Lyle, she left New Jersey and came to Oceanside to live with them. She became a member of Carlsbad Community Church and co-hosted a table, along with her daughter Claire, at the annual church Christmas luncheon.
Up until she was 103, she still walked up 14 steps everyday to her bedroom on the second floor. She never takes any medication. She now has two caregivers that have become part of the family. Her faith in God is unwavering and she often wonders why God has let her live so long. She believes her favorite hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” sums it up for her, “morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me.”
