Mason Byrd turned 107 years old on Saturday, celebrating the milestone surrounded by nearly 150 relatives and friends in Kansas City, Missouri, the city where she has spent most of her life. Born in 1919, Byrd has outlasted an era when the average American could expect to live under 55 years, a stark contrast highlighted by historical mortality data.
According to KMBC, Byrd's family credits her longevity to healthy habits, a love of people, and an ability to avoid stress. She still reads about one book each week, participates in water aerobics, and continues learning, habits her family says have kept her sharp and active well past a century of life. Byrd raised nine children over the course of her long life in Kansas City.
Otona Dahmer, a family member quoted by the station, described Byrd as “very resilient, very self-sufficient and someone who loves people.” When asked what has kept her going for more than a century, Byrd herself offered a simple, humble answer: “Maybe it's love thy neighbor, but I really don't know.”
A Milestone Rare Even Among Centenarians
Reaching 107 makes Byrd one of the Americans who have lived past 100. A U.S. Census Bureau special report found that centenarians accounted for just 2 out of every 10,000 Americans in 2020, and of that group, more than 60 percent were only 100 or 101 years old, while just 10 percent reached 105 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2020 Census counted 80,139 total centenarians nationwide, making Byrd's age an outlier even among the outliers.
That population is expected to grow substantially in the coming decades. A demographic analysis from the Pew Research Center projects the U.S. centenarian population will more than quadruple over the next 30 years, climbing from roughly 101,000 in 2024 to about 422,000 by 2054. Census figures also show women made up 78.8 percent of all U.S. centenarians as of the 2020 count, even though the male centenarian population grew at a faster rate, 85.3 percent, between 2010 and 2020 compared to 42.9 percent for women.
What the Science Says About Living Past 100
Byrd's continued independence at 107 lines up with findings from Boston University's New England Centenarian Study, which has studied more than 2,000 centenarians. That research, published in Frontiers in Genetics, indicates that people who reach extreme ages of 107 and beyond tend to show a “compression of morbidity,” meaning chronic illness and disability are often delayed until the very end of life rather than accumulating gradually.
The same research group has found that longevity is roughly 70 percent genetic by age 110, but behavioral factors matter too. The BU source recommends regular physical activity and stress management as ways to support longevity. Byrd's weekly reading habit, water aerobics routine, and family-described knack for avoiding stress are details reported about her life.
Census data also shows that Black or African American individuals made up 10.3 percent of all U.S. centenarians in 2020, a slight decline from 12.2 percent in 2010, even as overall racial diversity among the nation's centenarians increased. Byrd's milestone adds a local data point to that broader demographic picture.
A Family With Deep Roots on Troost Avenue
Byrd's family has marked her birthdays for years at Cafe Reflections, a garden-to-table restaurant and culinary training institute at 7016 Troost Avenue associated with her relative Mark Byrd. Ahead of her 107th birthday, she had previously celebrated her 104th, and separate reports mention a 104th-birthday party at the same Kansas City venue. The restaurant occupies a commercial space. Separately, Flatland KC has described a broader revitalization of the Troost Avenue corridor.
Local publication The Next Page KC has chronicled Byrd's birthdays in recent years, including her 105th in 2024 and her 106th last September, reflecting sustained community recognition of her longevity within Kansas City's Black community. Her relatives say they simply hope she continues enjoying life for as long as she remains healthy and happy.
