Irene Stratton celebrated her 100th birthday with more than 80 relatives.
Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 11:57 p.m.
Read more: Local, Community
KIVA -- Surrounded by four generations of family, Irene Stratton of Escanaba celebrated her 100th birthday.
In honor of Irene's milestone, 100 balloons were released.
The balloons contain a message that says "Happy 100th Birthday Irene" and lists an address to send Irene a birthday message.
The family hopes the balloons will be found by people across the region, and that Irene will be flooded with birthday wishes.
She says it's hard to be believe she'll be 100 years old on Tuesday, but Irene has an easy secret to living a long life.
"I think it's because I can laugh at life and I usually try not to be unhappy or sad," said Irene Stratton. "In spite of the stroke I had, I try to do as much as I can by myself."
Irene was one of the oldest students to ever graduate from Northern Michigan University.
At age 72, Irene received her degree in geography and earth sciences.
