Meet Ruthie Klatte. At 100, she’s a proud grandmother to a proud grandmother and role model to her granddaughter Jillian Klatte – and she was the flower girl at that same granddaughter’s wedding. During the ceremony, Jillian happily shared the spotlight with her grandmother, who she called the “rock” of the family.
Traditions vary – and, of course, can be disregarded – but it is common for flower girls to be anywhere from ages four to 10. However, Klatte being ten times that upper limit didn’t negatively affect the energy of the event at all. In fact, onlookers feel she was as excitable and energetic as any child.
New bride Jillian Klatte had her 100-year-old grandmother Ruthie be her flower girl at her wedding
Although the wedding, which took place on October 14 at the top of the IDS Tower in Minneapolis, was to be Jillian’s big day, much of her thoughts were on her grandmother leading up to the happy occasion. Like anyone planning such a momentous ceremony, Jillian had some logistics to consider: namely, she needed a flower girl.
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Well, thematically, she had the perfect choice her whole life. All her life, Jillian had watched her grandmother meticulously take care of her own garden. She still does this, too, despite two recent knee replacements. Who could be a better flower girl than Klatte? But she’s helped not just plants but also Jillian grow, too.
“She’s been a role model to me my whole life,” Jillian praised. “She’s never stopped being a role model. So I just said, I want my grandma to do it.”
Klatte was the life of the party
Klatte was wearing a fun floral-print jacket over her dress, accompanied by a flowery corsage at her wrist, as she walked down the aisle and playfully tossed rose petals for last’s month ceremony. Guests celebrating Jillian and her now-husband Elijah gave Klatte a very enthusiastic round of applause. Then, when things started to settle down, granddaughter and grandmother posed for photos together.
That’s the same outlook Klatte maintains. “As long as the wheels keep turning,” she said. Maintaining her gardening hobby helps, too. After all, she explained, “Flowers make me feel good.” So, she maintains a vitality that throws people for a loop, and has Klatte noting, “People don’t believe that I’m 100.” It was a relatively recent birthday she celebrated, made all the more special by the loving celebration she would participate in not long after.