93-Year-Old Edina Woman Enjoys Afternoon On the Town

At 93 years old, Beryl Stoller is setting an example of how to find magic in the second half of life.

Born on Pearl Harbor Day, Beryl speaks fluent French and carries the latest edition of the New York Times with her everywhere she goes. Something else Beryl loves? Getting dolled up for an event. But, she hadn’t had the chance to focus on such fun activities in the past few years.

As a young woman in New Jersey in the 1950’s, one of the activities Beryl most enjoyed was getting dressed up to go out on the town with her husband Leonard. Daughters Val and Wendy loved to help mom get ready while Beryl tried on dresses, jewelry and other accessories. The girls would either give her a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.” Getting ready to go out was as much fun as the evening itself, because Beryl said she loved the exchange with Val and Wendy.

Beryl was diagnosed with Parkinson’s several years ago, which led to an arduous medication regime, frequent falls and subsequent clinic visits. While the medical interventions seemed necessary, Beryl’s daughters felt that their mother’s quality of life was severely compromised by her condition. The lady they knew who loved to dress up and go out was no longer able to enjoy life as she had in the past.

Then, Wendy and Val found Edina-based Lifesprk and Beryl’s Life Care Manager, Ethel Muchlinski.

Immediately Ethel started addressing immediate priorities. Then, after those needs were met, Wendy and Val were able to create a plan for their mom. Beryl and her daughters decided together that their priority was to limit aggressive medical interventions, in exchange for a better quality of life and happiness. Ethel agreed and honored their wishes. The next goal was to bring that spark back to Beryl’s life!

Her wish came true on Thursday, May 17, when she enjoyed a day of primping and pampering, compliments of some generous businesses at 50th & France.  Beryl and her daughters started at , where they had their hair, nails and makeup done.

They next headed down the street to Fringe Boutique, where they picked out accessories. Afterward, Beryl and her daughters enjoyed lunch at . The day spurred fond memories for Beryl and also brought back the excitement and joy that so many elders lose in the second half of life.

“We want more people to discover the opportunities for living a sparked life for themselves,” explained Joel Theisen, Founder and CEO of Lifesprk. “It doesn’t have to be expensive, and we can provide the tools for people to even do it on their own.”

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