Family wishes 95-year-old grandmother happy birthday from safe distance
One New York family didn’t let the coronavirus keep them from celebrating their matriarch’s 95th birthday, but they did keep a safe distance.
WYSR reported Sara Byrne and her family had to cancel their planned birthday party for her grandmother, but they still wanted to get together to celebrate her.
Kathleen Byrne has 22 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren, according to a CNN report . Because most of them live in the Syracuse area, they were able to go to Kathleen Byrne's house — staying several feet away from the front porch — and sing happy birthday, complete with balloons, WYSR reported.
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"We had to keep our distance but we couldn't not see our best girl on her birthday!!!" Byrne captioned her Wednesday Instagram post. "Happy 95th Gram we love you SO much!"
“Oh, I love it. Thank you,” Kathleen Byrne is heard saying to her family. “I’m sorry we aren’t all together.”
"She has done so much for our family and we are so so thankful to still have her, especially during this crazy time our world is going through," Sara Byrne told CNN. "We wanted to show up for her to make her feel special on her big day no matter what."
Sara Byrne added her grandmother is “doing great” and “was so happy to see us all.”
“It was the best seeing her smile,” she said.
About the Author
Kelcie Willis is a writer and online content producer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Sociology from the University of Georgia. At the AJC, she covers state, regional and national news with the Content Curation Desk.
