Centenarian Edith Geske shows a photo of her with her siblings on a railroad track.

East Texas has gained a new centenarian. Last week, Edith Geske celebrated her 100th birthday, and through those years her faith, kindness and tenacity remained steady.

Geske said when word spread that she had turned 100, her church and community came together to show their love.

“I got 111 cards from the church, and I imagine I’ve got at least 300 cards overall,” Geske said.

Geske has lived in Chandler for over 30 years.

“I was born November 20, 1920,” Geske said. “I was born in Dallas, but I was raised in Hurst. I graduated from Riverside High School. My dad wanted me to be a schoolteacher. I wanted to be a nurse, but they wouldn’t sign for me. I said: ‘I won’t teach school for nobody.’”

Edith ended up going to beauty school, got married to her sweetheart, Eddie, and had three children. Despite her resolve to not teach, Edith went back to school to get a college degree in Christian education.

Edith’s husband, Eddie, was a Baptist pastor that specialized in planting and revitalizing churches. The family moved around the United States working in various churches. Along with helping with the church, Edith would often find work in a local office or teaching position.

Eddie Geske passed away in 1997, followed by her son’s death in 2000.

“It was one of the hardest times I’ve ever had in my life,” Geske said. “Eddie was the best thing that ever happened to me – him and our kids. It was really, really hard. But I thank the Lord for the time we had together though. We had a little over 53 years. A lot of people don’t get that. The Lord’s been good to us.”

Geske has lived long enough not just to see her fourth generation descendants, but the fifth generation as well.

“I’ve got the best family in the whole world I think,” Geske said. “We had three children, I have five grandchildren, I have eight great-grandchildren, and I’ve got two great-great-grandchildren.”

When Geske was 85, she was looking for a place to invest her time.

Geske became interested in becoming a volunteer after participating in the Tyler Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy, which allows citizens to learn more about the inner workings of the police department.

She was a volunteer at the Tyler Police Department for over 10 years.

“When I first started volunteering, I went through that civilian academy. They took us out to the gun range, where they had machine guns,” Geske said. “I shot them, and I thought nothing about it. I used to go squirrel hunting out in the woods with my dad. After that, they called me Annie Oakley.”

The police chief at the time, Gary Swindle, would use Geske as an example, saying: “If we can teach an 85-year-old woman to shoot an AK-47, we can train you.”

Next to her computer desk, Geske proudly displays a “Top Gun” award given to her by the chief.

“She loves helping people and was a great help for many years,” said Geske’s daughter Candy Schaub, who still works at the police department. “She still would love to help if she could just come for an hour or so. She used to come one day a week and work for eight hours per day.”

Geske said that the only way she could have made it this far was her faith.

“I’m still here,” Geske said. “The Lord’s left me here for something. Without the Lord I couldn’t have made it. I can’t do a lot of things, but I can still cook. And I pray. When people are in trouble, I pray — and the Lord does answer prayer. Maybe he left me here just to pray and help other people.”