“I’ve been so lucky,” Harriett “Hal” Keyser said Nov. 13 of entering her 104th year. “I’ve always had a wonderful family.”
Keyser, who celebrated her birthday Nov. 15 with 47 family members and friends at the Riverhouse Reef and Grill in Palmetto, moved to Holmes Beach in 1976.
She and her husband came to Anna Maria Island from Revere, Massachusetts, to visit her parents. They ended up living on a boat for 10 years at Galati Yacht Basin in Anna Maria before purchasing a home in Holmes Beach.
Now there are five generations of her family living in the area.
Keyser said her secret for staying young is her “large, loving family.” She has 64 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, along with four children. Her daughter, Beryl Love-Rosche, lives with her and helps her around the house.
“I couldn’t survive without Beryl,” she said. “She gets all the credit for my longevity.”
Keyser is a longtime member of Roser Memorial Community Church in Anna Maria.
“We went last year with all of the family to Roser for her birthday,” Love-Rosche said. “The whole congregation sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and gave her a standing ovation.” With her birthday falling on a Sunday this year, Keyser said she planned to again attend church with her family.
Keyser enjoys an ongoing cribbage competition with one of her grandsons — and she’s currently five games ahead.
“I don’t let him win,” Keyser said. “He doesn’t let me win, either.”
Keyser said she likes to go out and also enjoys time at home with her two cats. She likes singing along to her favorite Rod Stewart tunes.
Another favorite musician is her grandson, former “American Idol” contestant Johnny Keyser, who wrote a song for his grandmother. He named the tune “Memories” and performed it at her birthday party.
“I think it’s a wonderful tune,” she said. “Everyone who hears it is very impressed.”
Of turning 104, Keyser said, “I just want to keep the same as I am. I don’t know of anything else I need.”