Ruth and Leo Zanger have taken the term "extended family" to a new level: the retired couple from the state of Illinois have 12 children, 53 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren and now a great-great-grandchild, the latest addition to their family, to their clan . Now they are blessed with 100 grandchildren – and there is still no end in sight!
12 children started
If you want to have so many grandchildren, you naturally start with many children. Greg, Debbie, David, Donna, Steve, Mike, Daniel, Ernie, Matt, Chuck, Lina and Joe – these are the names of the 12 children that Ruth gave birth to in 59 happy years of marriage. The youngest among them is Joe, who is now 31 years old, but was already a tenfold uncle when he was born. But can such a large family still be organized in any way?
Planning is everything
Even if each of the family reunions turns out to be extremely lively – it is usually not chaotic, on the contrary: every family member knows exactly what they are doing and so all celebrations such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter or birthdays are well organized. Daughter Donna explains: "Everyone knows what they have to do and tries very hard. They even try to outdo each other with their courteous manner. Apart from that, we always find a reason to celebrate." Her father Leo adds: "We all enjoy family gatherings very much."
A large family that sticks together
It seems like this family understands really well despite the size. Grandson Austin describes his view of things as follows: "I know many families that are only half the size of us and see each other at most once or twice a year. We are all very close. We meet very often. We just spend time a lot of time together. " But it is not so easy for married family members to adjust immediately to such an extended family. Ashleigh Zanger, mother of grandson number 100, explains: "It took quite a long time for me to know all the names – and to keep them." Nevertheless, she is extremely proud to be part of such a huge family clan: "I feel like someone very special. 100 grandchildren – that's quite a house number!"