Sylvia Utz, who will be turning 110 years old on March 9, talks in her room at the Brethren Retirement Community in Greenville. She was born March 9, 1899. Staff Photo by Jim Witmer
GREENVILLE — Sylvia Utz helped her remarkable genes express their full potential. She neither smoked nor drank alcohol. She worked hard while growing up on a Darke County farm, milking cows and hoeing weeds. Now, even at a very advanced age, she tries to keep active. She makes her daily trek to the Brethren Retirement Community's dining room for supper with only the assistance of a walker, even if she must stop to rest along the way.
"I must walk once a day ... to keep my legs a-going," she said.
She still makes her bed each morning, reads large-print devotions, and circles words in jumbles of letters, called "word finds."
There was nothing particularly special about her diet growing up, she said in an interview last week. "I was raised on pork, potatoes and beans."
Perhaps her only peculiar habit has been her aversion to any kind of cold beverage. She prefers her water warm.
Today, she can hear well and remains lucid. When asked about her family, there is no hesitation: She has three children, two of whom are living; five grandchildren, three of whom are living; seven great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-grandchildren.
"I don't have an ache or a pain," she is fond of saying. And, she said, "I can eat anything."
Her favorite meal is fried chicken. In her younger years, she said, "I had fried chicken from the ground up. Killed it, dressed it." Her favorite pie is black raspberry.
Oddly, neither of her parents lived very long. Sylvia helped her father care for her mother, Clara, who died in 1917 of tuberculosis at age 53. Her father, Benjamin Franklin Booker, died at the age of 79.
Her siblings, however, have all lived longer than her parents — in some cases, much, much longer. Her oldest sister, Delcie Cress, died at age 109 in 1998. Another sister lived to be 94. Her two brothers survived into their 80s.
Doris Jean Brown, 88, of Phoenix, said mouths fly open when she tells people her mother is still living.
"She's got more spunk than she used to have," said Brown, who visits her mother twice a year. "She was always kind of timid, but I think as she's gotten older, she speaks up more."
Earliest memory
Mrs. Utz said her earliest memory is of members of her church, the Pitsburg Church of the Brethren, picnicking on the present-day grounds of the Brethren Retirement Community with orphans and senior citizens. She figures she was 6 or 7.
The orphans and senior citizens stayed in two brick buildings built in 1902, when she was 3. After standing vacant for years, they were demolished three years ago, when she was 107.
She sometimes uses one of the bricks from the demolished buildings to hold open the door to her room.
Today, she's known for her sharp mind and sense of humor by friends and staff at the Brethren Retirement Community, said John Warner, president and CEO.
"She really is just a wonderful person," Warner said.
The retirement community, home to eight centenarians, plans to hold a celebration for Mrs. Utz's 110th birthday today, complete with cake.
"It's a milestone, and she should be really proud that she still has all her mind," Brown said.
Secrets of the supercentenarians
Only one in 5 million people lives to the age of 110.
Of the 89 verified supercentenarians worldwide, 82 are women. Some researchers suspect women's second X chromosome aids their longevity.
Longevity runs in the family. People whose parents live to be more than 80 years old are themselves likelier to live long lives.
People born to women under 25 are twice as likely to live to 100 or longer than those born to older women.
Children raised on farms in the early 1900s were found to have a greater chance of living to 100 or beyond.
L. Stephen Coles, who has performed autopsies on nine supercentenarians, traced the cause of death for seven of them to a breakdown in the transport protein for thyroid hormone. This creates deposits in blood vessels that can cause them to hemorrhage, or can force the heart to work harder, causing congestive heart failure.
Sources:
L. Stephen Coles, executive director of the Gerontology Research Group;
Natalia Gavrilova and Leonid A. Gavrilov, research associates,
University of Chicago's Center on Aging
Ben Sutherly
bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com
Copyright © 2009 Cox Ohio Publishing.
March 9, 2009
USA: Woman, 110, known for sharp mind and humor
.
DAYTON, OH / Dayton Daily News / March 9, 2009
By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer
Sylvia Utz, who will be turning 110 years old on March 9, talks in her room at the Brethren Retirement Community in Greenville. She was born March 9, 1899. Staff Photo by Jim Witmer
GREENVILLE — Sylvia Utz helped her remarkable genes express their full potential. She neither smoked nor drank alcohol. She worked hard while growing up on a Darke County farm, milking cows and hoeing weeds. Now, even at a very advanced age, she tries to keep active. She makes her daily trek to the Brethren Retirement Community's dining room for supper with only the assistance of a walker, even if she must stop to rest along the way.
"I must walk once a day ... to keep my legs a-going," she said.
She still makes her bed each morning, reads large-print devotions, and circles words in jumbles of letters, called "word finds."
There was nothing particularly special about her diet growing up, she said in an interview last week. "I was raised on pork, potatoes and beans."
Perhaps her only peculiar habit has been her aversion to any kind of cold beverage. She prefers her water warm.
Today, she can hear well and remains lucid. When asked about her family, there is no hesitation: She has three children, two of whom are living; five grandchildren, three of whom are living; seven great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-grandchildren.
"I don't have an ache or a pain," she is fond of saying. And, she said, "I can eat anything."
Her favorite meal is fried chicken. In her younger years, she said, "I had fried chicken from the ground up. Killed it, dressed it." Her favorite pie is black raspberry.
Oddly, neither of her parents lived very long. Sylvia helped her father care for her mother, Clara, who died in 1917 of tuberculosis at age 53. Her father, Benjamin Franklin Booker, died at the age of 79.
Her siblings, however, have all lived longer than her parents — in some cases, much, much longer. Her oldest sister, Delcie Cress, died at age 109 in 1998. Another sister lived to be 94. Her two brothers survived into their 80s.
Doris Jean Brown, 88, of Phoenix, said mouths fly open when she tells people her mother is still living.
"She's got more spunk than she used to have," said Brown, who visits her mother twice a year. "She was always kind of timid, but I think as she's gotten older, she speaks up more."
Earliest memory
Mrs. Utz said her earliest memory is of members of her church, the Pitsburg Church of the Brethren, picnicking on the present-day grounds of the Brethren Retirement Community with orphans and senior citizens. She figures she was 6 or 7.
The orphans and senior citizens stayed in two brick buildings built in 1902, when she was 3. After standing vacant for years, they were demolished three years ago, when she was 107.
She sometimes uses one of the bricks from the demolished buildings to hold open the door to her room.
Today, she's known for her sharp mind and sense of humor by friends and staff at the Brethren Retirement Community, said John Warner, president and CEO.
"She really is just a wonderful person," Warner said.
The retirement community, home to eight centenarians, plans to hold a celebration for Mrs. Utz's 110th birthday today, complete with cake.
"It's a milestone, and she should be really proud that she still has all her mind," Brown said.
Secrets of the supercentenarians
Only one in 5 million people lives to the age of 110.
Of the 89 verified supercentenarians worldwide, 82 are women. Some researchers suspect women's second X chromosome aids their longevity.
Longevity runs in the family. People whose parents live to be more than 80 years old are themselves likelier to live long lives.
People born to women under 25 are twice as likely to live to 100 or longer than those born to older women.
Children raised on farms in the early 1900s were found to have a greater chance of living to 100 or beyond.
L. Stephen Coles, who has performed autopsies on nine supercentenarians, traced the cause of death for seven of them to a breakdown in the transport protein for thyroid hormone. This creates deposits in blood vessels that can cause them to hemorrhage, or can force the heart to work harder, causing congestive heart failure.
Sources:
L. Stephen Coles, executive director of the Gerontology Research Group;
Natalia Gavrilova and Leonid A. Gavrilov, research associates,
University of Chicago's Center on Aging
Ben Sutherly
bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com
Copyright © 2009 Cox Ohio Publishing.
Sylvia Utz, who will be turning 110 years old on March 9, talks in her room at the Brethren Retirement Community in Greenville. She was born March 9, 1899. Staff Photo by Jim Witmer
GREENVILLE — Sylvia Utz helped her remarkable genes express their full potential. She neither smoked nor drank alcohol. She worked hard while growing up on a Darke County farm, milking cows and hoeing weeds. Now, even at a very advanced age, she tries to keep active. She makes her daily trek to the Brethren Retirement Community's dining room for supper with only the assistance of a walker, even if she must stop to rest along the way.
"I must walk once a day ... to keep my legs a-going," she said.
She still makes her bed each morning, reads large-print devotions, and circles words in jumbles of letters, called "word finds."
There was nothing particularly special about her diet growing up, she said in an interview last week. "I was raised on pork, potatoes and beans."
Perhaps her only peculiar habit has been her aversion to any kind of cold beverage. She prefers her water warm.
Today, she can hear well and remains lucid. When asked about her family, there is no hesitation: She has three children, two of whom are living; five grandchildren, three of whom are living; seven great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-grandchildren.
"I don't have an ache or a pain," she is fond of saying. And, she said, "I can eat anything."
Her favorite meal is fried chicken. In her younger years, she said, "I had fried chicken from the ground up. Killed it, dressed it." Her favorite pie is black raspberry.
Oddly, neither of her parents lived very long. Sylvia helped her father care for her mother, Clara, who died in 1917 of tuberculosis at age 53. Her father, Benjamin Franklin Booker, died at the age of 79.
Her siblings, however, have all lived longer than her parents — in some cases, much, much longer. Her oldest sister, Delcie Cress, died at age 109 in 1998. Another sister lived to be 94. Her two brothers survived into their 80s.
Doris Jean Brown, 88, of Phoenix, said mouths fly open when she tells people her mother is still living.
"She's got more spunk than she used to have," said Brown, who visits her mother twice a year. "She was always kind of timid, but I think as she's gotten older, she speaks up more."
Earliest memory
Mrs. Utz said her earliest memory is of members of her church, the Pitsburg Church of the Brethren, picnicking on the present-day grounds of the Brethren Retirement Community with orphans and senior citizens. She figures she was 6 or 7.
The orphans and senior citizens stayed in two brick buildings built in 1902, when she was 3. After standing vacant for years, they were demolished three years ago, when she was 107.
She sometimes uses one of the bricks from the demolished buildings to hold open the door to her room.
Today, she's known for her sharp mind and sense of humor by friends and staff at the Brethren Retirement Community, said John Warner, president and CEO.
"She really is just a wonderful person," Warner said.
The retirement community, home to eight centenarians, plans to hold a celebration for Mrs. Utz's 110th birthday today, complete with cake.
"It's a milestone, and she should be really proud that she still has all her mind," Brown said.
Secrets of the supercentenarians
Only one in 5 million people lives to the age of 110.
Of the 89 verified supercentenarians worldwide, 82 are women. Some researchers suspect women's second X chromosome aids their longevity.
Longevity runs in the family. People whose parents live to be more than 80 years old are themselves likelier to live long lives.
People born to women under 25 are twice as likely to live to 100 or longer than those born to older women.
Children raised on farms in the early 1900s were found to have a greater chance of living to 100 or beyond.
L. Stephen Coles, who has performed autopsies on nine supercentenarians, traced the cause of death for seven of them to a breakdown in the transport protein for thyroid hormone. This creates deposits in blood vessels that can cause them to hemorrhage, or can force the heart to work harder, causing congestive heart failure.
Sources:
L. Stephen Coles, executive director of the Gerontology Research Group;
Natalia Gavrilova and Leonid A. Gavrilov, research associates,
University of Chicago's Center on Aging
Ben Sutherly
bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com
Copyright © 2009 Cox Ohio Publishing.
