Oldest Oregonian dies at 114
Eugene, Ore. -- For one Eugene family, the story of Delma Kollar's life is a book.
"The title is 'A Garden in Her Heart.' This is her garden of memories," said Kollar's granddaughter, Syd Bergeson.
Each page and every line tell the stories of the remarkable life of Kollar, a Creswell resident.
Kollar's autobiography is long. After all, it tells the tales of a life that spanned 114 years.
"It's a unique adventure," said Bergeson. "We'll probably never know another 114-year-old."
Before her death on Tuesday, Kollar was believed to have been the oldest living Oregonian, the third oldest American, and the fourth oldest person on the planet.
As a child, Kollar rode to school on a horse with her little sister and their brother. Then they'd tell the horse to go home - and it would go home. She became a teacher and married her college sweetheart, who died in 1966.
After 114 years, Kollar has six grandchildren, 11 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild.
"She was in the first group of women that got to vote and saw the first cars invented," said Bergeson.
In her mid 90's, Kollar decided to put her stories into print with the help of her granddaughter. The pair rushed to get it done by her 100th birthday.
"I thought, 'I've got to get it done in case she passes,'" recalls Bergeson. "And here we are 14 years later."
The book includes two chapters -- one on Kollar's life and a second on her family members. And like every good story, Kollar's has a beginning, a middle, and now an end.
"Life has been good to me," reads Bergeson from the final paragraph in Kollar's autobiography. "I don't suppose there's anybody in the world who's had a better more enjoyable life than me. I am just so thankful to the good lord to have let me live so long and have such a wonderful life."
