86-Year-Old Woman Celebrates Birthday With 86th Great-Grandchild

If you thought you had too many grandkids’ birthdays to remember, just imagine how Marie Frey feels. Frey celebrated her 86th birthday late last month by meeting her new great-granddaughter, who was born just days before. While little baby Blakely Grace is a welcome addition to the Frey clan, meeting a great-grandchild is nothing new for Marie. For the Ohio native, the birth of her newest great-grandchild made her a great-grandma for the 86th time! 

Marie is no stranger to large families. After marrying her late husband Gerald in 1949, Marie says she knew she always wanted a big family but thought she wouldn’t surpass 12 children. But, Gerald and Marie went on to have 15 children of their own 10 daughters and five sons to be exact. 

“I don’t know anything else besides family,” Marie told local paper, The Courier.  And it seems all of her children went on to have large families of their own.

Today, Marie is the proud grandma of 68 and a great-grandma to 86 biological grandchildren plus another nine step-great-grandchildren. And she’s expecting two more great-grandbabies in the coming months. Family members say they’ve counted as many as around 150 people at their Christmas family gatherings. 

And if you thought Marie had a lot of grandkids, don’t forget about the Illinois couple that welcomed their 100th grandchild last year. That’s a lot of gifts and a lot of grandkids to spoil.