USA: Secrets of a Centenarian

. ABILENE, Texas / The Reporter-News / Home / Life / Family / March 22, 2009 Secrets of a Centenarian What we can learn from them and the challenges they face By Laura Gutschke, Special to the Reporter-News Centenarians do not set out to live to 100. They just set out to live. That seems to be one of many important lessons younger Americans should learn from their triple-digit elders because more will be reaching the century milestone in the decades to come. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 84,331 Americans were 100 or older in 2007. That number will swell almost seven times to 580,605 by the year 2040. “Daddy wasn’t afraid of hard work,” said Gene Henderson, 72, about his father, Vernon Henderson, 106. The elder Henderson entered the Methodist ministry as a young man and was a chaplain during World War II. After he retired from the ministry in the 1980s, he worked in the Methodist conference office in Lubbock for about 15 years. “A doctor in Lubbock told dad several years ago that someone gave him good genes and he took care of them,” Gene Henderson said. He drives from Brownwood at least three times a week to visit his father at Wesley Court Methodist Retirement Community. Up until an illness a few weeks ago, Vernon Henderson could be found each morning in the Wesley lobby, chatting with the staff and residents. Gene said he tries to be active with woodworking and “live a better life than I used to” because of his father’s longevity. Life expectancy has grown phenomenally in America since today’s centenarians were born because of several variables, including better water, medical advancements and improved means of mobility, said C. Bruce Davis, Ph.D., owner of Wisteria Place retirement living facility and the former director of the Pruett Gerontology Center at Abilene Christian University. In 1900, the average American was expected to live to age 46. Today, the age is 80 for women and 74 for men, Davis said. Genetics is the No. 1 determining factor for reaching the century mark. “Most who are a 100 now know of a relative who lived to 100,” Davis said. Sarah Lewis, who turned 100 on March 12, had a grandfather who lived to 89 and a grandmother who reached 87. “Her two brothers lived to 100,” Lewis said. Cozie Draper, who celebrated her 100th birthday on March 15, had several relatives reach 70s and 80s when life expectancy was not that high. “When I was a kid, you thought 60 was old. I never thought I’d live this long, and I’ll be 75 this year in May,” said Draper’s son R.A. “Pete” Weinkauf. After genetics, older Americans generally share several lifestyle factors that initially led to a longer life and now impact the quality of their days. “They have a positive outlook on life, watch their diet, eat well and have some form of exercise. They also often have a faith in God,” Davis said. And, it is never too late to develop those lifestyle factors. “If you change your lifestyle, you can always change your longevity odds,” Davis said. Physically active In their youth, centenarians such as Draper often worked on a farm or otherwise led physically demanding lives. And their pastimes usually were high in cardio exertion as well. “I was born in Hennepin, Okla., in the same home my mother was born in. Everything was the same, only it wasn’t Oklahoma. Momma was born in Indian Territory,” Draper said. As a little girl, Draper was responsible for churning butter. And, her eyes light up as she recalls one of her favorite pastimes: dancing, especially to her father’s tunes on a fiddle. “We would go from farm house to farm house and have more fun on a Saturday night,” Draper said. Through the years, Draper raised five children and sometimes worked as a housekeeper. She continued to dance until her mid 80s. “I have to walk with that walker. That’s a sorry way to get around,” said Draper, who lives in the same apartment complex as her son Pete. Although she doesn’t cook today, Draper heats leftovers in the microwave, plays dominoes at Zion Lutheran Church’s Joy Group and sits on the porch of her apartment, taking in the neighborhood sights, sounds and smells. Exercise mentally Engaging in activities that promote mental agility is another common factor among centenarians. Draper can carry on a conversation and count crochet stitches at the same time, Weinkauf said. “She started learning to crochet when she was 6. She learned how from an aunt, and she’s still using the same crochet needle today,” said Draper’s daughter Margaret Demetro of Vallejo, Calif. Positive outlook Centenarians’ optimistic attitude is not a byproduct of an easy life. Lewis was one of seven children raised by her mother and later her grandparents after her father walked out on them. Compounding that, Lewis developed heart problems at age 4 after contracting scarlet fever. At age 7, Lewis and her grandfather were struck by lightning while sitting on the front porch in their home in St. Joseph, Missouri. Lewis’s grandfather taught her to not feel sorry for herself because of her illness. She recalls him telling her, “You have to live on your own two feet. You have to take your medicine, and I know you don’t want to.” She took his advice. At age 15, he started working at a tablet factory for 9 cents an hour. She later was employed in retail and as a seamstress. She also married and raised three children and a niece. Adapt to stay busy As they face family changes and health challenges, a positive outlook helps centenarians make adjustments to stay busy, continue their favorite pastimes or develop new ones. Lewis learned to paint from her grandfather and painted ceramics for many years. “I went to school when I was in my 80s to learn to make dolls — porcelain dolls. I even had my own kiln and molds,” Lewis said. “My daughter told me I had to stay busy.” She continues to paint every day in her apartment at University Place Retirement Community, surrounded by hundreds of her dolls of all shapes and themes. She also reads books, talks on the telephone and participates in activities at the retirement community. Leona Fuchs, who turns 100 on March 26, worked avidly in the yard, including starting the lawn mower, well into her 70s before her husband died and she moved in with her daughter, Dorothy Beale, 72, and her husband. After the move, Fuchs filled her days with cooking meals, doing housework and playing with her great-grandchildren, Beale said. Eat well for the times Centenarians’ diets growing up tended to be rich in calories, carbohydrates and fat, a necessity for their physically demanding daily lives. “I fall a lot but I don’t break. That’s because I lived on milk all the time,” Draper said. “I have to give some glory to the cows.” Until recently, her usual breakfast was bacon and eggs. She never had coffee, though, but that is a daily drink for Lewis, including at night. “I sleep just fine. That’s because I don’t have anything on my conscience,” Lewis said. One of the few common dietary factors found in studies of centenarians from around the world is smaller food portions or several small meals consumed throughout the day. Limited alcohol, tobacco use Research shows that alcohol and tobacco use among centenarians tended to be nonexistent, or at least limited and irregular. Draper and Lewis said they did not smoke or drink. Spiritually oriented Crosses adorn the walls of Draper’s apartment, and “I believe in angels” is a sign on Lewis’s front door. “In those who get to be a 100, you also usually are going to find a strong inclination in faith,” Davis said. Linda Tijerina, activities director at University Place, where three residents are 100 or older, said that she sees in the centenarians an attitude of “I belong to God, whether here or in heaven, and while here I have a job to do.” Ability to make friends Centenarians frequently outlive their friends, and sometimes their children, but they fill the void with new friendships, Bruce said. “Friends they make later in life may become more important than the friendships from their younger years,” he said. Fiercely independent “The idea that older folks reverse roles with their children is hogwash. Older people are still the decision-makers,” Davis said. Those decisions can be big, such as where they want to live, or small, such as what brand of tissue to buy when they have to depend on someone else to shop for them. About half of centenarians live in nursing homes. The rest live alone, with family or in a retirement community, Davis said. When health or safety issues prompt adult children to suggest to their parents that they need to move or stop driving, the conversation needs to be adult-to-adult, Davis suggested. By definition, centenarians live a long time. But, one of Draper’s birthday cards best summarizes how they made the journey to longevity: “100 years — and you did it one day at a time.” Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group © 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.