FRENCHTOWN TWP., MI — Ruth Masserant had her first child 70 years ago. Today, she has 200 descendants.
Within two days this spring, Masserant, 90, welcomed her 199 and 200 descendants. Griffin James Jones, her first great-great-grandchild, was born May 22. Rosalie Mae Skinner, her 124 great-grandchild and 200 descendant, arrived May 24.
“I have been so blessed,” Masserant said. “I have so much to be grateful for. God is so good.”
Masserant’s husband, Gerald, died in 2021, at age 90. The couple married in 1953 and, over 21 years, had 11 children: four sons, David, Ken, Rollin and Edward, and seven daughters, Kathy, Laura, Mary, Cheryl, Barb, Michelle and Lynn. The couple currently has 64 grandchildren, 124 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
“There are always more babies coming. At this time, Mom has two more great-grandchildren and another great-great-grandchild on the way,” said Kathy Jones, one of Masserant’s daughters. “My mom has a list of all 124 great-grandchildren and their birthdays taped to one of her doors. Whenever a new baby is born, she is quick to update the list. Amazingly, at 90-years-old, she absolutely can name all 64 grandchildren and most of the great-grandchildren, too. She has a fabulous memory.”
Masserant herself had eight siblings.
“Most of the (siblings) had large families, too. Dad had three siblings. There were 56 grandchildren in that generation,” Jones said. “There is no such thing as a small family gathering.”
Once, Gerald and Ruth’s family needed multiple turkeys and four big bags of potatoes for one family dinner.
“At Thanksgiving, we used to try to get together for a turkey dinner, but it just got too hard cooking so many turkeys and peeling all those potatoes. I peeled 35 pounds of potatoes for dinner those years,” Jones said. “Now, we have divided up, with a few families together, and Mom joins one group for Thanksgiving. For Christmas and Easter, we typically have 125 to 130 in attendance for a big morning brunch.”
For Masserant’s birthday every October, the family rents Dixie Skateland.
“Most everyone tries to be there. When she turned 90 last year, we had the biggest group ever. There were 196 family members in attendance,” Jones said. “We push her to the center of the rink in her wheelchair while the little ones do the ‘Hokey Pokey’ and the ‘Chicken Dance’ around her. She looks forward to that celebration every year.”
Other gatherings are held at family members’ homes. Many have finished pole barns.
“We all have a collection of eight-foot tables and dozens of folding chairs, so we are always prepared for family gatherings,” Jones said.
Masserant still lives on the family’s homestead. She keeps busy, attending daily Catholic Mass with her children. She’s still making rosaries.
In 1975, she and her husband planted Job’s Tears in their garden. The plant produces seeds that are shaped like tears. Masserant has made thousands of rosaries from the seeds.
“My mom still works on her Job’s Tears rosaries everyday. She is so content with her pastime,” Jones said. “She loves giving them away to anyone who needs one, and she sends them with my brother, Ken, on all his trips and travels. Her rosaries are literally all over the world. We plant the Job’s Tears seeds in early June, and we harvest them in September. We have to make sure she has enough to last for another year.”
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Frenchtown Township’s Ruth Masserant has 200 descendants
Reporting by Suzanne Nolan Wisler, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
