Your Town: Palm Coast woman turns 100

Palm Coast Observer
Your Town

Joslyn Sterman will be 100 years old on July 22. She currently lives with her son and daughter-in-law, Michael Van Degna and Elaine Pereau, in Palm Coast.

For the last 15 years, Sterman has lived with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

“I would like to write about her, before this terrible disease overtakes her health, her personality and her dignity,” Van Degna said about his mother.

Roslyn Sterman in her earlier years. Photo courtesy of Elaine Pereau

Sterman was born in Garfield, New Jersey, and was raised in Brooklyn, New York. She always was, and still is, the life of any party and a singer of Italian love songs. As an aunt and godmother to her nieces, she taught them the facts of life.

“As her only son, I got to enjoy her activities as a photographer’s model and the most beautiful blonde you ever saw,” Van Degna said. “To this day, she is blessed with beauty and wit. To all who know her, you have witnessed her gift of ‘Love of Life’ and expressing of oneself, uncensored.”

For the past 10 years, Sterman has enjoyed her daily visits to the David Siegel Senior Center in Palm Coast and its caring staff, including manager Janet Jensen, Van Degna said.

“We consider it a home away from home Monday through Friday for her to enjoy, with all the daily activities they all have planned,” he said. “So, happy 100th birthday, mother, and thank you all at the center for all the love you give to her.”