102-year-old Tyler resident, former teacher celebrates milestone birthday in style

Published 3:27 pm Tuesday, May 25, 2021

With a pink crown on her head, Caroline Braun was filled with gratitude as she swayed with the oldies music, enjoyed birthday cake and celebrated with big balloons for her 102nd birthday on Monday afternoon alongside family and friends.

Meadow Lake Senior Living in Tyler hosted a party for Braun, a resident at the facility, to commemorate the monumental occasion.

She said her advice to have a long life is “trust in God and trust in your family.”

She added it’s important to show kindness to everyone and be thankful. She noted that she doesn’t feel old.

“I’m happy to be here and thankful for my family,” Braun said. “I’m thankful I’m still alive.”

Born May 22, 1919, Braun, a crossword and word search champion, started teaching classes in a one-room schoolhouse in Aurora, Colorado, where she educated young minds for about 30 years.

The Colorado native and Tyler resident retired from teaching at 60 years old and her favorite students to teach were second-graders.

Her granddaughter Kenda Thomas, of Whitehouse, said her grandmother has always been her inspiration and she followed her footsteps to become a teacher.

“She was a second-grade teacher, which inspired me to be a teacher,” Thomas said. “She has always had a love of life. It motivated me. She travelled all over the world, which inspired a curiosity for me.”

Braun moved to Texas and the Tyler area in 2003 with Thomas’ parents after Thomas first came to the area in 1995 to be teacher in East Texas. She’s been at Meadow Lake for just over 10 years.

She has two children, five grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

“She’s the most gracious person I have ever met and stubbornly independent,” Thomas said. “She loves family gatherings and friends; she loves a party.”

Thomas said her grandma has a joyous, child-like attitude that’s contagious to everyone around her. She’s also thankful for everything, including her family.

“She loves the Lord and she exudes that to everyone she meets,” Thomas said.

Her son, Ron Braun, who lives in Indiana and came to Tyler for his mom’s birthday, said he visits two weeks in the spring for her birthday and in November for Thanksgiving. He was happy to see her celebrate her birthday.

He said she’s always been a great mother by being thoughtful and caring toward others. He recalled him and his sister grading papers when their mom was a school teacher.

Ron Braun attributes his mother’s longevity to eating healthy and knowing the correct diet for her, such as no bread or pasta.

“She always eats her vegetables and meat. She does that, and takes her vitamins,” he said. “Other than that, she’s thankful for God every day.”