Manteca Woman Has 100 Descendants
A woman in Manteca proudly says she has more grandkids than she has candles on her birthday cake.
Helen Young has a lot to celebrate this holiday season. A picture of her past only begins to tell the tale of what her life is now made up of.
Helen looks at a picture of her at 18, on one of her first dates with the man she later married.
"I remember he'd meet me on the way out of school," said Helen.
Now at 98 years young she's still sharp enough for mind games, but you ask her to name some of her family members
"I know at least 10 of them," said Helen.
It's not as easy. There are 100 of them. As we look through her family album, we quickly see they don't just have a big family we'll call it a small army.
From her 6 kids, Helen got 24 grand kids, 57 great grandkids, then 19 great-great grandkids. That's 100 descendants scattered across the country.
Helen, who was an only child, reflects on her large family with love.
"I've been so lucky to have them," she says.
That's why her daughter, Carole, proudly takes care of Helen at their Manteca home.
"I've had more company in 4 years than I've had in the 40 before. It's wonderful," said Carole.
They reflect back on family accomplishments and trips like the time they saw Wayne Newton in Las Vegas. Every month her family sends her a bouquet of flowers. But this month when her latest great-great grandchild was born, she got an overwhelming 100 balloons -- one for each offspring.
So who's the 100th baby?
"Alexis! The names are getting so difficult for me," she says.
Helen just saw some of her relatives when they paid her a surprise visit last week, but she still hasn't yet seen baby Alexis.
