Demel Says Having Fun Key to Getting to 100

Lois Demel of Schulenburg turned 100 years young on Tuesday, April 7.

She celebrated the day with her children, friends and caretakers at Schulenburg Regency Nursing Center. Later, her kids took her to Robert’s Steakhouse in Flatonia where they enjoyed a meal of fried shrimp.

The Record visited with Demel at her birthday party on Tuesday.

When asked about the key to her longevity, Demel said, “Just having a good time.”

Demel grew up in Schulenburg. Her father, W.H. Neumann, owned a feed store in town. She graduated from Schulenburg High School in 1943. She and her late husband Erhard Demel moved to the Houston area, where they spent their careers and raised a family. She’s seen a lot in a century on this planet, but she counted the birth of her two children, Dennis Demel and Gayle Spence, as the most important events in her life.

While in the Houston area, Demel worked for Sears, Roebuck and Co. She and her husband retired and moved back to Schulenburg in 1980. Her husband passed away in 1990.

“He was a sweetheart,” she said. “He died too young.”

Demel has been an active volunteer for many organizations in Schulenburg over the years, including the Schulenburg Literary Club, Schulenburg Festival, Catholic Daughters of America and the Schulenburg Garden Club. She organized the galas that helped to build the Schulenburg Public Library. She read to elementary students in Schulenburg for many years. And she was the regular bingo caller at Schulenburg Regency Nursing Center, where she now resides.

“I liked to join stuff,” she said. “I guess you could say I’m a social butterfly.”

Demel said she has been fortunate to travel all over the world, including visits to all 50 states, the Panama Canal, Costa Rica and Europe.

Demel even offered some advice about finances: “You can’t take money with you, so you might as well use it.”

She’s a proud grandmother of three and a great-grandmother of four.

Happy birthday, Mrs. Demel.