Skip to Content

Tillie Dybing, 107, is survivor of both Covid and 1918 pandemic: ‘I feel fine’

KTVZ

Click here for updates on this story

    MINNEAPOLIS, MN (WCCO) — A Minnesota woman has a title very few people in the world share: two-time major pandemic survivor.

The 107-year-old newly-vaccinated warrior is Tillie Dybing. She lives at Ecumen in Detroit Lakes.

Dybing is full of history. Her life started a century ago on a North Dakota farm.

“I worked hard. I was a farm girl, I used to haul grain with a team of horses from the thrashing [machine] to the grain elevator,” Dybing said.

That tough young lady would endure what few ever could. Starting with the 1918 flu pandemic, she was 5, and her hardworking parents both caught the virus.

“My folks were in bed, I was running up and down the middle of the bed, you know, and keeping my folks awake, and my dad said, ‘Can’t you run some other place?’” Tillie said. “That was quite a flu, quite a session there. Though I survived that, and survived cancer.”

Dybing also survived the loss of her beloved husband, and most recently, at 107 years old, she survived COVID-19.

“I don’t know, I didn’t feel any different,” she said.

The stoic great-grandmother says the most painful part of COVID was staying inside her room.

“I opened the door one day and wanted to go out and see what was going on, and the nurse hollered, ‘Tillie! Get back in your room [laughs]!’” she said.

She says laughter is a key to life, and so is faith. She also says to take life day-by-day instead of year-by-year. She just got the vaccine, and says it didn’t even hurt. And in typical form, Tillie is feeling strong.

“I feel fine,” Dybing said. “Am I supposed to be sick [laughs]?”

She says after COVID, she’s looking forward to taking long summer drives with her son.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Article Topic Follows: National & World

Jump to comments ↓

CNN Newsource

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

KTVZ NewsChannel 21 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content