PLAINVIEW, Minn. – When Anna Stoehr recently created her Facebook page, she did what many youngsters have done to bypass age requirements.
Stoehr lied about her date of birth. She said she was 99 years old after her actual age bounced back as invalid. Such is the burden on a 114-year-old woman.
"You betcha," said Stoehr, giddy as an early 20th century school girl.
Minnesota's oldest resident is not only excited, she's wired – literally. For that she can thank her new friendship with a Verizon sales rep named Joseph Ramireza.
"So what are we doing today, Anna?" asked Ramireza as they met for breakfast at Stoehr's retirement community.
Anna was born before her family's home even had a phone - or electric lights or a car. But in a few minutes, she'll be FaceTiming with her friends on her brand new iPad.
"She's become something of a kindred spirit," he said.
The relationship between Ramireza and Stoehr began back in August, when Stoehr's son Harlan purchased his first smartphone from Ramireza, an employee at St. Francis Wireless Zone.
"I just sold him the iPhone and he was talking about his mother and I realized Harlan was 85 years young and I was just astounded," Ramireza said.
The obvious next question followed: "How old is your mother?"
When he was told Anna Stoehr was approaching her 114th birthday, Ramireza had to meet her – and a friendship was born.
During half a dozen drives from the Twin Cities to Plainview, Ramireza began teaching Stoehr how to e-mail and Google.
On one visit, Ramireza typed "Susan B. Anthony" into the search engine. He laughed when he remembers Anna's response: "It started talking about Susan B. Anthony and she said to me, 'I could have told you that.'"
When Facebook failed to recognize Stoehr's birth date as valid, Ramireza helped her write a letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on an old typewriter.
"I'm still here," Stoehr dictated.
Stoehr proved long ago she is here for the long haul. She lived alone in her farmhouse near Potsdam until she was 112.
An organization that tracks supercentenarians lists her as the 7th oldest person in America, just two years younger than the oldest – a 116-year-old woman living in Arkansas.
Stoehr's new found interest in technology comes as no surprise to her son. "That's an aspect of my mom, she's been curious about everything all her life and continues to be curious," Harlan Stoehr said.
Anna Stoehr's friends and family helped her celebrate her 114th birthday with a party Sunday at Green Prairie Place, her senior community in Plainview.
