Texas grandfather, 105, who has witnessed TWELVE solar eclipses, reveals why lucky number 13 could be the best one yet
LaVerne Biser and his late wife Marion saw their first solar eclipse together on July 20, 1963.
Monday’s total solar eclipse marks Biser’s thirteenth time seeing the moon completely eclipse the sun.
Some may think that if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, but not the 105-year-old Bison.
“When you see one, you want to see them all,” he said.
After that first solar eclipse, the Bisers were hooked. They started chasing eclipses.
LaVerne Biser will see his 13th solar eclipse on Monday. This one is a lifelong eclipse chaser and has arrived at his front door.
LaVerne and Marion Biser saw this total solar eclipse on February 26, 1979 – just one of dozens they saw together.
They planned their vacations to correspond with eclipses across the country and around the world.
In total, they watched twelve of the heavenly events together.
The couple was married for 78 years before Marion passed away last year.
“I miss her very much,” he told the Texas ABC affiliate WFAA. ‘We were always together. She’s seen them all too.’
Biser, who grew up in Ohio, now lives in North Texas.
For the lifelong eclipse hunter, this is the first time the eclipse has come to him.
105-year-old LaVerne Biser saw a dozen solar eclipses with his late wife Marion, who died last year. This will be the first one he sees without her.
LaVerne Biser’s photos of eclipses decorate his home. This set is from a lunar eclipse on January 31, 2018.
READ MORE: The path of the totality solar eclipse could shift
About 34 million people are expected to see the eclipse, but hundreds of thousands of viewers will now be left out of the direct path and unable to view the event.
The entire path of the total solar eclipse will pass over North Texas, and Biser plans to watch it with his daughter and her family in Plano.
It will be the first time he sees a solar eclipse without Marion.
“You’d be sorry she wasn’t there,” he said. “Enjoy the moment… that’s all. Enjoy the moment. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’
Biser and his late wife had four children and a lifetime of heavenly memories together.
His home is full of his woodworking projects, including not only the bed they shared, but also woodwork that showcases his love of astronomy.
An amateur astronomer and professional mechanical engineer, Biser also built telescopes, which still adorn his home.
Commemorating a life of eclipses he shared with his wife, Biser’s home is decorated with photographic mementos of eclipses they witnessed, carefully labeled and documented.
LaVerne Biser was a mechanical engineer by profession and a woodworker by hobby. His house is still full of telescopes he built.
“I’ve been building things all my life,” said LaVerne Biser, who showed how to make a simple solar eclipse viewer.
LaVerne Biser explained a simple way to view the solar eclipse at home, without special glasses: poke a hole in a paper plate and let the shadow fall on another plate. “That’s not just a point of light, that’s an image of the sun,” he said.
As an engineer, he also explained a simple way to view the solar eclipse at home, without special glasses:
Poke a hole in a paper plate and let the shadow fall on another plate.
“That’s not just a point of light, that’s an image of the sun,” he said.
When the moon crosses the sun, its shadow appears in that point of light.
There won’t be a total solar eclipse in North Texas for at least 300 years, so it’s safe to say this is the only one Biser will see from his city.
But the older engineer has no regrets, putting his long life down to avoiding drink, drugs and smoking.
“Also a beautiful, caring woman,” he added. ‘That helps.’