Happy 99th to Helen Maxine Corsaut

Helen Maxine Corsaut celebrated her 99th birthday this month with family members. There are four generations of Corsauts living in Rancho Murieta.

Helen Maxine Corsaut regaled guests at her 99th birthday party with stories from her childhood, "such as sneaking out of her house to drive her friend's Model T," said grandson Matt Corsaut. He reports "she is sharp as a tack," with no age-related complaints "other than bum knees and poor eyesight," as she heads toward the century mark.

His grandmother attributes her longevity to getting lots of sleep, but that doesn't keep her from playing blackjack at Jackson Rancheria or enjoying visits from friends and family, he said.

She was born in Lansing, Mich. on July 13, 1913. Her father moved the family to Toronto in 1915 to get a job in an munitions factory, and then he returned to the States in 1918 to fight in World War I. She graduated high school in Lansing, married Dr. Jay C. Corsaut in 1933, and had three boys, Jay, James and Jerry. There are also seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Two sons live in Rancho Murieta, as well as two grandsons and four great-grandchildren. Counting the matriarch herself, that's four generations, which says more about the appeal of life here than any comparison with Mayberry could. Pass the birthday cake.