Eunice Black
Age: 99
Defining characteristic: Rule breaker
Eunice Black has never been one for routine and regulations. She prefers variety and spontaneity, saying with only a bit of exaggeration, “I had something like 40 different jobs. Every time someone said, ‘Can you do this?’ I said yes.” She has relished doing the opposite of what she was told to do. “If it said, ‘Do not enter here,’ I immediately opened the door,” she says. One time she even went behind a closed door at an art museum. “I had one of the most fascinating experiences,” she says.
As she approaches 100, Black doesn't tend to overanalyze how she got here. “It's crazy, because I did everything people said you shouldn't do. I dyed my hair for 50 years. They said you have to drink so many glasses of water a day—I don't. They said you can't eat red meat—I do. If I went to a party and they offered me champagne, I took the champagne.”
When it came to raising her children, Black followed no textbook. “I have three extraordinary children, and I had nothing to do with them being extraordinary,” she says with a laugh.
A widow since 2010, Black has her own apartment in a senior community in East Windsor, NJ. She stopped driving a few years ago and has some trouble walking, so she has a scooter and three different walkers, which she uses depending on the circumstances. Her days feel long, she admits, but she keeps busy with on-site activities, three bridge games a week, and reading. She typically has three or four books going at once and often finds that a theme in one book connects with something in another. The only genre she avoids is horror.
Black grew up in New York City, lived in every borough but Staten Island, and worked in the aircraft industry during World War II. Later, when she returned to the workforce after raising her children, she had a job at a lawn-sprinkler manufacturer that she claims “was the most fun anyone can have at work.” As a systems analyst, “I would go into a department to figure out how to make the employees' lives easier while at the same time increasing their productivity,” she explains.
Now she worries that she's “not contributing to the world,” although she takes pride in the accomplishments of her children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. When pressed for a life lesson, Black says, “I think everyone has a lifestyle that fits them, and if you find the lifestyle that suits you, you will be happier than if you try to follow what others try to tell you to do.”
Anthony Sacco
Age: 92
Defining characteristic: Hardworking
Anthony Sacco has been making submarine sandwiches nearly all his life. His parents opened a sandwich shop in Atlantic City in 1947, and he started working in the business when he was 16. In 1969, Sacco started his own sub shop in Ventnor, NJ, under the name Sack O' Subs, and eventually expanded the business to other locations. On a busy Saturday or Sunday in the summer, he and his employees might make 1,200 sandwiches in one day.
He retired about 10 years ago but still does some accounting and computer work for the business, which used to keep him busy nonstop. “I always said it was hard work,” says Sacco. “Not physically hard, but you had to deal with people. About 90 percent of them were nice, but once in a while you get somebody you can't satisfy.”
Sacco built his life on hard work. He grew up in Atlantic City, played sports, and was in the Navy during the Korean War (but didn't serve overseas). He and his wife, who died in 2007, were married for 50 years and had five children, one of whom is dealing with a serious medical condition. Sacco, who lives in Margate, NJ, remarried in 2009. He still drives and tries to attend Mass every Sunday, but he doesn't do much walking, and stopped playing racquetball when he was 82. His once all-consuming workweek now consists of an hour or two a day on the computer. Last June, a Sack O' Subs shop in Ventnor, NJ, recently acquired by his grandson, was damaged in a fire—an upsetting but temporary setback that Sacco took in stride. “If I can't do anything about something, then I just try to forget it,” he says.
As evidenced by the cheesesteaks he still makes at home, Sacco never adopted any particular dietary habit in the hope of living to old age. He had a stroke several years ago, but it did not result in physical or cognitive deficits. “I never really thought about old age, and even now I don't,” he says. “I can't see myself dying, to be honest, although I know I will one of these days.” Sacco has a friend who has trouble sleeping because he's worrying about death. “I try to tell him, ‘It's going to happen, it's going to happen, so don't worry about it.’”
Naomi Rose
Age: 89
Defining characteristic: Physical fitness
Naomi Rose was not happy when she moved to an independent living community in Princeton, NJ, with her husband more than 10 years ago. She loved her old home and her friends nearby and kept an active schedule, but it was becoming hard for her husband to get around the two-story house.
Now she says moving was a good decision. “I have a lot of friends here my age who are entertaining and fun to be with,” says Rose, whose husband died in 2013. “It's much easier to stay social in a community like this one. I always have plans.”
They often include some form of exercise such as a brisk walk every morning and regular games of pickleball. She only recently gave up tennis because “I couldn't get to the ball anymore,” she says.
“I'm lucky because I'm in pretty good shape,” she adds. “If I couldn't walk, that would really cramp my style.”
Rose still drives, so she can attend the theater and concerts. She also plays bridge and gets together with friends often. Although she enjoys a glass of wine with dinner, she watches what she eats, avoids sweets, and pays attention to the scale. If her weight goes up, she moderates her food intake until it comes down again. Rose's only major medical problem has been clogged arteries, for which she had two stents inserted in her heart several years ago.
A mother of three, grandmother of six, and great-grandmother of four, she used to teach math and computer science at a community college—and was always good with details. “I never kept a calendar. I used to be able to remember everything,” she says. “Now I write everything down.”
Despite those changes that come with age, Rose, who turns 90 in June, doesn't dwell on negatives. “I have been lucky, that's all I can say.”
Elaine Sharer
Age: 91
Defining characteristic: Staying connected
Elaine Sharer fell into a funk after her last sibling died this past spring. The oldest of five, she had experienced other painful losses, including that of her adult daughter, but the death of her sister Molly hit especially hard. Sharer, normally an on-the-go person, felt lackluster and kept more to herself at her senior community in suburban Philadelphia.
“I had no desire to do anything,” she says. Luckily a friend noticed the change and suggested that Sharer attend a faith-based ministry to talk about her grief and other concerns. Sharer did so, and it made a tremendous difference.
That Sharer sought help from someone is not surprising given that personal connections have always been important to her. She studied French in college and attended the University of Lyon in France on a Fulbright scholarship. She made good friends there and returned to the country more than a dozen times. At the community where she now lives, she coordinated a foreign affairs discussion group called Great Decisions and doubled participation.
Some of Sharer's longtime activities fell by the wayside during the pandemic, including involvement in her church, where she was a lector for many years. But the pandemic inspired new traditions, such as Fireside Thursdays—group gatherings outside with hors d'oeuvres and wine.
For 23 years, Sharer gave tours of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, some in French. She became a docent at the museum after a career that included teaching, computers, and working with actuaries. Although 19th-century European art was her specialty in the museum, “when I had tours for French visitors, I often guided them through the American wing, because I felt that it was important for people coming to this country to see that we had good artists,” she says.
Sharer, who divorced when her two children were grown, played tennis into her eighties and still likes to swim and walk her dog. She lives independently and still drives, although she doesn't really enjoy driving anymore. Other than having a pacemaker and having experienced some broken bones, she is in good health. “I can't do what I did five years ago, and I've accepted that I'm using a cane,” she says. “I go into the dining room with a cane but walk without it to the buffet if there is one.”
For peace of mind, she tries to limit how much she watches the news, preferring police dramas and public television. As for making the most of later life, Sharer says, “My advice would be ‘Go out and be with other people. Don't hibernate in your room.’”
Albert Pollack
Age: 100
Defining characteristic: Determination
Albert Pollack last saw his mother when he was 19 and the Nazis were advancing on Poland. She died in the Holocaust, as did other relatives. He still remembers one of his mother's early lessons: “Be honest, be nice, and be kind.”
He also internalized another lesson: Don't give up. “If I have something on my mind, I do it. I don't stop until I finish it. You can call it stubbornness, but I call it determination.” The trait is so important to him that he used it for the title of his memoir—Determination: Through the Holocaust, War, and Beyond—which he published two years ago. It recounts his life growing up in Poland with a single mother, escaping the Nazis, and serving in the Polish army under Russian command.
Upon immigrating to the United States in 1949, Pollack settled in Cleveland, where his aunt and uncle lived. He worked as a photographer and was especially skilled at touching up negatives in the era before digital photography. He made mothers of brides and grooms look younger and removed pimples on high school graduates. “I didn't change their looks, I just made them look better,” he says. Over the years his photo studio expanded to include custom framing.
Pollack married his second wife, Madelyn, 41 years ago, and between them they have four children, eight grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. They've always lived in the same house, which is filled with design touches and renovations they did themselves. At the age of 80, Pollack pulled up the wall-to-wall carpeting and installed ash flooring.
He helped build a playground in their Cleveland suburb and says being involved in their community has always been a priority. “If someone called and they needed advice, I took my toolbox and solved their problem,” he says.
Pollack and his wife gave up red meat back in the mid-1980s, and Madelyn makes their meals from scratch, using vegetables and herbs from their garden and greenhouse—which Pollack built. He does have macular degeneration and can see only slightly with his left eye. That makes it hard for him to walk around his garden or neighborhood, but he gets in 1,000 steps a day by walking around inside. The house, which is one story and wheelchair accessible, was built 41 years ago with the idea that he and Madelyn could live there forever.
When Pollack turned 100, he invited family and about 65 friends to celebrate—if they were vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. “At this age, I couldn't want anything more,” he says. “Even if I had $10 million in the bank, it wouldn't please me more than seeing my great-grandchildren every day.”
The Latest Research on Aging
They are called the “oldest old”—people ages 85 and up—and they are a surprisingly large group. The 85-plus population in the United States is expected to more than double over the next few decades—from 6.6 million in 2019 to 14.4 million in 2040, according to a federal report. The number of centenarians is also increasing. The report said there were 100,322 people 100 or older in the U.S. in 2019, up from 32,194 in 1980.
As more people live past 85, researchers who study aging may focus less on the number of years lived and more on the number of healthy years lived, says Ronald C. Petersen, MD, PhD, FAAN, who directs the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, which is tracking more than 3,000 people in Olmsted County, MN. The goal is to develop risk-prediction models for mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease, and to outline prevention strategies.
Building on the notion that engaging in cognitive, social, and physical activity is important to brain health, Julene Johnson, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist and professor at the Institute for Health & Aging at the University of California, San Francisco, conducted a study on whether participating in community choirs protects older people against cognitive and physical decline. So far, the research, funded by the National Institute on Aging, has demonstrated that choir participation decreased loneliness and improved interest in life among the older adults, but it did not improve physical or cognitive function.
The 90+ Study, led by Claudia Kawas, MD, professor of neurology and of neurobiology and behavior at the University of California, Irvine, is following 1,600 people in the “oldest old” category to determine factors associated with longevity and cognitive health. While Dr. Kawas is convinced that “healthy lifestyle matters,” she believes the aging process is influenced by more than just a list of dos and don'ts. One of her key findings, for example, is a correlation between education early in life and a healthy brain in old age. In Dr. Kawas' research, having the APOE4 gene is a strong risk factor for Alzheimer's disease at younger ages, but by age 90 it is no longer a factor, while lower levels of education (not having finished high school or attended college) is one.
“While your education level was determined long ago, remaining physically and cognitively active is also important for maintaining brain health,” she says.
“Even the definition of what we call ‘successful aging’ is challenging,” Dr. Kawas says, since many studies measure older people's function level only through scores on standardized tests. “If you ask me what I want when I'm in my nineties, I would say my memory but also mobility,” she says.
Some major research findings on how exercise and diet affect aging and brain health are expected to be reported by other groups in the coming year, says Dr. Kawas. Positive results would be reassuring, she says, because everyone “loves the idea that it's never too late.”
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