• South Dakota Health Care Association (SDHCA), in conjunction with KELOLAND Television, is saddened by the news that Beryl Kapaun of Salem who was recently named the "2012 Centenarian of the Year" passed away yesterday.   Beryl celebrated her 113th birthday in June.  This recognition was a four-peat for Beryl as she has remained the oldest living South Dakotan for the past 4 years.
• According to Century Club records, Beryl Kapaun was a resident at the Golden LivingCenter in Salem, born June 4, 1899.

• Beryl lived on her own in an apartment until she was 104 years old.   As a child, her family moved around the country frequently, as her mother had bronchial conditions that required moving to warmer climates during the harsh South Dakota winters.  Beryl graduated from Brookings High School and took business courses at Brookings State College and Sioux Falls Business College.  She worked in offices around the area and in Colorado as a stenographer for a large fruit-growing company.  She later returned to the family farm near Montrose to care for her parents, where she stayed until the 1990's when she then moved into Montrose. 
• Beryl credited her longevity to genes in the family, her clean living and never overeating at meals!  Beryl commented however that she was surprised that she

lived as long as she did because there were two times that stand out in her mind that she was given up for dead!  Once she had pleural pneumonia and fell into a deep sleep and her family thought she had died.  The other time was when she had something she calls "Slow Fever."  She

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