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Hernando Today

Centenarian Loves Being With Family

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By TONY HOLT, Hernando Today

Published: January 23, 2008

Updated: 01/22/2008 04:11 pm

BROOKSVILLE - Birthday girl Amy Gernert sat at the head table and laughed as those around her joked about her zest for life.

It's not so much she still has the energy to travel and work around the house - but that she has a high supply at such a mature age.

She recently turned 100 years old.

"If there is any doubt who's boss, trust me, this tiny lady (has) a lot of power," said Joanne Schoch, who is married to Gernert's grandson.

Gernert's smile grew wider when she heard those words. She pumped her fist.

Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were with her at the Golden Corral in Brooksville Sunday afternoon to celebrate her monumental birthday. She also has great-great grandchildren, but they were unable to travel from Pennsylvania to visit.

Gernert moved to Spring Hill from the Northeast in 1984. It was a time when Spring Hill offered little more that a secluded mermaid attraction and a few dirt roads.

As the area developed, Gernert relished seeing more concrete laid down around her. Busier streets and bustling shopping centers suited her just fine.

"I really like Spring Hill," she said. "It sort of grows on you."

Gernert's hearing was not at 100 percent, but a lot of that likely had to do with the noise around her.

Even though she is healthy and manages well by herself, she no longer lives alone. She moved in with her daughter, Phyllis Hughes, and her husband. They have homes up and down Florida and Georgia.

A lot happened in Gernert's life after leaving Spring Hill. She moved into a house in Mississippi, but had little time to enjoy it. It was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

After that, she moved in with her daughter in Georgia. After enduring the cold in Pennsylvania for most of her life, she was not about to leave the warmer temperatures of the Southeast. She is happiest being with her family far south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Hughes would hate to be without her mom.

"We're the deadheads of the family," she joked. "She cooks, cleans and irons all day long. We'd be lost without her."

Hughes' husband, Stanley, wandered over to tell a story about his mother-in-law. It was one of his favorites and he couldn't resist the urge to share it.

When Gernert was still a resident in Spring Hill, she was at a restaurant with her family when a stranger sashayed over.

Whether he was drawn by the woman's charm or he was fooled by her youthful glow, he boldly and bravely made an advance.

"A 35-year-old guy tried to pick her up," Stanley Hughes said. "She was 70."

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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