Photo: Koller Family
Marguerite “Peg” Koller, 99, was an only child -- and lonely. But she and her husband, William, who came from a family of four, had 11 children, 56 grandchildren and, as of Sept. 19, 101 great-grandchildren - and counting. She and Wiliam, who died in 2008, married in 1942 and their 11 children were born over 19 years. “It was such a great experience growing up in our family,” said Chris Kohler, 60, the ninth born, who had six children and has 14 grandchildren so far. Most of the 11 Koller siblings have had more than five children each. Peg works hard to attend every family event. In fact, six years ago, when two weddings were scheduled on the same day, she made it to both. When Chrissy Balster’s son was born -- bringing the great-grandchildren count to 100 -- she and her husband brought him directly from the hospital to visit their grandmom. “No matter the size of the family, how big it grows, how far away we are, those lessons that my grandparents started 75 years ago are very much rooted in all of us,” said Balster, 34, whose son was named “Koller William” after his great-grandfather.
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