Evergreen Park Native Shares Secret To Living To 106: 'Love and Jesus'

EVERGREEN PARK, IL—Family, residents and staff at Harmony Palos Heights gathered Saturday to celebrate the 106th birthday of Christine Beezhold.

Christine and her sister, the late Dorothy C. Wiersum, were among the group of Dutch Reformed church members who founded Elim Christian Services in 1948, in the basement of Christine's home in Evergreen Park.

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"They wanted to do something to help," Christine's granddaughter, Mallory Soderlund, told Patch.

Elim was one of the earliest charitable organizations to offer services for adults and children with developmental and intellectual disabilities as alternatives to institutionalization. With campuses in Crestwood and Orland Park, Elim is lauded for its Christ-centered services, including special education, vocational and day programs for adults with disabilities. Elim's learning program that trains Elim staff and partners with other organizations or ministries serving people with disabilities is recognized nationally and internationally.

Christine was born in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood on July 25, 1920. Asked what her secret was to living to 106, she replied, "Love and Jesus."

Christine and her husband, Christian, enjoyed 62 years of marriage until her husband's death in 2010. Christian was a dashing World War II Coast Guard veteran who worked at Verson Streel Press Company. The couple raised their four children—Christian, Jan, Rudy and Bob—in Evergreen Park.

They were blessed with eight grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

"She is an amazing grandma," her granddaughter told Patch. "When I was younger we went to their house on Saturdays for dinner and cake. She gave baby wooden shoes to each grandchild when they were born."

Christine enjoyed cake with her friends at Harmony and wore a birthday sash.

"How many people do you know who are 106," said Soderlund, whose maternal grandmother, Fran Hood, of Oak Lawn, lived to be 105.