This past month, one woman from New York recently turned 107 years old.
Louise Jean attributes her long life to being surprisingly single.
She shared with the media:
“I think the secret of 107: I never got married. I think that’s the secret. My sister says, ‘I wish I never got married.’
A TV news reporter, Jessica Layton working at WCBS, recently shared with Boredpanda her meeting with Louise Jean during her birthday celebration:
“It was a roomful of extremely upbeat, smiling seniors — probably ranging in age from 70 to 90. The majority looking so youthful and truly happy, bopping to music.”
“Louise was hysterical. She said “I’ve been doing interviews and getting a party since I was 99. I’ve had it!” So — I think she really doesn’t care much about the fuss,” Layton shared with BoredPanda. “I loved and appreciated her matter of fact personality and sense of humor. Yet — she was genuinely appreciative of so many people wanting to celebrate.”
“For me to see Louise it was an honor because it’s like meeting history. I always wish I had gotten to have one more conversation or gotten one more story out of my grandparents who have both passed. So to get to talk to someone who has seen it and lived it all and get to ask her questions really was a privilege and an experience I won’t forget.”
Layton took away from Louise Jean her strength and grit.
“She’s this adorable, small lady dressed beautifully in pale pink. Yet, she’s legally blind, survived a serious bout with pneumonia two years ago and also survived being attacked and mugged in her apartment when she was 103 years old! That takes grit!”
“After talking to her, I think the key to living a long life is doing what makes you happy. Sounds simple. But it’s not necessarily… How often do we try to live our lives for other people rather than put our own happiness first? And I don’t mean in a selfish way,” Layton thought out loud. “But Louise remains active — dancing, lunch with friends, bingo — and joked she never got married and that was a key. Bottom line — she was true to herself and what she wanted. That’s a secret that needs to get out.”
And to top it off, Louise Jean’s sister is almost as old as she is – at 102 years old. So how does one live that long? Louise Jean had a few more suggestions on how to live your best life for a long life.
“Italian food. Italian food is very good for you. I was brought up with very good food. No soda, no cake,” she shared with the media, also sharing how she stays active in Bartow Community Center in Coop City where she currently resides.
“If they have exercise, I do the exercise. If they have dancing, I dance. I still do a little dancing. After my lunch, I will play bingo, so I had a full day.”
Louise Jean had 100 plus people at her 107th birthday party but her life has not gone unscathed.
She is legally blind, battled pneumonia, and at 103 was assaulted and robbed. Currently, the woman’s oldest living woman in the US is Atelia Murphy, who lives in New York and is 114 years old.
Jean Louise recently celebrated her 107th birthday and says the secret to her long life may have never been getting married.
You heard it from a pro, cheers to that!
Image via pxhere