Family matriarch Persinger turns 100
As the calendar prepares to flip into 2024, family matriarch Peg Persinger of the Wayne County Care Center will remember 2023 as the year she celebrated her 100th birthday.
Her daughters Lynda Geitgey and Sue Boss agree her longevity is the product of clean living, a good heart, a loving family and staying out of the sun.
“She moved here from McHenry, Kentucky when she was 18 years old,” Geitgey said. “She worked in a pharmacy, but her main focus has always been on her family. She loves being around family. If she could have had 50 kids, she would have.”
Persinger witnessed a lot throughout the past 100 years, from technological advancements and scientific breakthroughs to social and cultural shifts that have shaped today’s world. One event she has never forgotten was the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. According to her daughters, it was a difficult time for her.
While the news Persinger keeps up with isn’t always pleasant, her outlet is sports, and her sport of choice is Cleveland Browns football.
The longtime fan loved watching Bernie Kosar in his playing days.
“You don’t bother her when the Browns are on,” Boss said. “She is passionate about them; she once threatened to throw the TV out of the window during a game over a bad call.”
Persinger has two children, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, with one on the way.
Dan Starcher is the public communications coordinator for Wayne County.
