Former cheerleader puts on her uniform at Merrill High School

MIDLAND, Mich. (WNEM) - You're never too old to stop doing what you love - That message rings especially true for one woman at Candlestone Assisted Living in Midland. TV5's Lauren Piesko brings us the heartwarming story of how one former cheerleader's reminiscing was brought to life.

Meet Ilagene Doehring - she's 97 years young and a former Merrill Vandal cheerleader. But with the help of the Merrill High School cheer team and coach Jena Glazier - she was able to put her uniform back on and even become a flyer again for one day.

"She said, 'lift up' and we're like 'really?!'" said Jena Glazier - Merrill High School cheer coach. "And she just got right up there and stood right up, and it was awesome."

Ilagene was a member of the school's very first cheer team and even helped sew the first uniforms.

"I just felt bad that Merrill High School didn't have cheerleaders when all the other schools had them," said Doehring. "So, we decided to do something about it! We had a hard time finding orange material to make our uniforms. We had a lady that sewed them for us and that was it."

The visit was a complete surprise to Illagene, but a delight to be part of.

"Were you expecting that?" said Doehring. "No, not at all. No, I just trusted them to do whatever they wanted to do. I was embarrassed by all the attention."

"We asked her if she remembered any cheers from school and we were figuring it was probably 80, 85 years ago and she was like 'yes'" said Glazier. "She was on top of it. She was cheering before we walked in the door and ready to go..."

"Ilagene can kick higher than us, she can probably run faster than me, she's full of spirit," said Kati Roper, Life and Enrichment Director at Candlestone Assisted Living. "We made some little Ilagene signs. All of our residents held these in the audience so that they could cheer for Ilagene while she was up cheering. It was heartwarming, it was so fun to watch her up there and see her smile."

She even taught the girls a few cheers they plan to use...

"What was your favorite cheer to do?" said Doehring. "Come on team, fight! Come on team, fight!"

"When I left, she said, 'Without me, you wouldn't have Merrill cheer' and I thought on that and I'm just so grateful for her because I know what it probably took to get that started," said Glazier. "And she's allowed me to come in after her, a foundation that she built and she and her girls, they built this program, and I get to come in after her and mentor girls all the time because of that."

"I guess I'm famous now," said Doehring.