The Akers family is, as one sibling describes it, “just a normal family.”
Evelyn Akers is the oldest of the five siblings and Johnson County natives, who she said have had their ins and outs as any family does. But this spring, this group of “typical” siblings reached a not-so-normal milestone.
March 22 marked the 80th birthday of the youngest sibling, which puts all five of them in their 80s. As Evelyn herself prepares to turn 90 this September, the spread-out siblings marked the “golden year” milestone with an “80’s for Akers” bash back in Johnson County.
The Akers are born-and-raised Kansans
Aside from a few years in Kansas City, Kansas, the Akers siblings spent most of their childhood in northern Overland Park — where Evelyn still lives today.
Bill Akers, 85, also remained in Johnson County and now lives in Olathe — but the five siblings are more spread out than they used to be.
Betty Coleman, the middle sibling at 84, lives in Independence, Missouri. Lloyd Akers, 82, lives in Denmark, Michigan, and JoAnn Gilliland — “the baby” at 80 — now lives in Warsaw, Missouri.
Though the siblings live in different places now and hold different roles in the family (“Bill is the ornery one,” Evelyn said, while Betty is more of a “homemaker”) , some things haven’t changed.
For one, group photos are almost always taken in order of age — with Evelyn on the left, and JoAnn on the right. Another constant in their clan, Evelyn said, is the presence of humor.
“We’re all big kids,” she said “Always kidding each other and pulling jokes on each other, or telling stories on each other.”
Marking the occasion
The Akers family held their party last weekend, gathering at Evelyn’s home in northern Overland Park.
Evelyn was hard at work preparing for it, cleaning and refurbishing her home in the weeks leading up to her family’s arrival. That’s part of the secret to longevity, she said — staying as active as possible.
“If you don’t use it, you lose it,” Evelyn said. “I always feel better when I’m doing something.”
Celebrating old age in notable ways is quite a tradition for the Akers family. When Evelyn turned 80 in 2014, the family came up with the idea to pitch in for a hot air balloon ride — an idea that ultimately fell through, Evelyn said, though the Akers still celebrated with a picnic.
For her sister’s 80th birthday, Evelyn opted to create a scrapbook full of family photos from throughout the years. She also purchased decorative hummingbirds to mark the occasion — a sentimental nod to JoAnn’s phone calls to her from Missouri whenever she catches sight of a hummingbird.
“I’ll hang one up here, so I’ll be watching them too,” she said. “That’s just something between her and me.”
In addition to the 80s milestone, the celebration was significant in another way. The last time the five Akers were together, Evelyn said, was sometime in 2018 — as health obstacles and the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for them to gather.
“It’ll feel great,” she said. “Just seeing everybody and kidding and everything.”
Growing and maintaining family bonds
The past eight decades haven’t been without conflict, Evelyn said, as can be true with any group of siblings. That goes all the way back to their childhood (“I was the boss,” Evelyn recounted about their dynamic growing up).
But the five of them have made it a priority to resolve conflicts and check up on each other, she said, making frequent use of the phone.
“Just think about, how much is it worth to you if you lose this person?” She advised about getting through sibling rifts. “Is it that important, what you’re arguing about?”
Keeping those relationships alive and well after more than 80 years has felt valuable, she said — and so has the passing of those eight decades themselves.
“I feel like I get compliments all the time just because I’m still walking,” she said. “There are several things that are really good about getting older. I do feel very fortunate.”
