April 10th is the 100th day of the year, and what better time to celebrate the many centenarians at
Aspira who seem to have perfected the art of living a long and healthy life? We sat down with residents ranging in age from 100 to 107 to find out if they have a secret recipe for living life to the fullest, or just really good genes.
Some of our centenarians made us blush, like 103-year-old Marjorie Ward, who credits being “a good lover” for her longevity. Others made us laugh out loud, like 100-year-old Violet Churko, who says her secret is “trying to keep up to her 104-year-old sister, Olga.” And then there’s 100-year-old Leona Perry, who claims it’s “being stubborn” that’s helped her live so long.
It goes without saying that having a sense of humour was one of the most widely shared secrets our centenarians had to offer. Almost everyone we talked to not only wore a smile on their own faces, they knew how to put a smile on ours.
A surprising number of Aspira centenarians, like 102-year-old Esther Poley, credit growing up 
on the family farm. “The farm taught me the meaning of hard work”, says Esther, “We didn’t have any boys in the family.” 104-year-old Olga Dramnitzki told us her secret was “Hard work. Farm work, like the men do.” Edna Dobie, who is soon to be 108, hasn’t just mastered farming, she’s also mastered golf, bowling and snowmobiling. “Being a farmer’s wife kept me busy”, says Edna, “Don’t be afraid to try new things! I started playing golf in my 80s. My friends and I also picked up bowling and snowmobiling. I got my first hole in one at around 85.”
Edna, along with almost every centenarian we spoke with, seemed to be doing two things fairly consistently: they’ve remained active all their lives and they continue to surround themselves with friends and family. Many centenarians also agreed on two big don’ts: don’t smoke and don’t take yourself too seriously.
For some centenarians, living a long and healthy life is all about genetics. Ethel Dover is 106 and she believes genetics plays the biggest part, along with exercise, eating healthy and being happy. According to 100-year-old Ralph Brooks, it’s good genes all the way, as well as a good, healthy dose of music, joy, and laughter.
We couldn’t help but notice that Ralph was one of only three centenarian men we spoke with,
versus 24 women. According to Statistics Canada, Canadian women are over 80% more likely to become centenarians than men. Is it the art of living that gives women the edge when it comes to a long life, or science? It turns out women have more four to five times more staying power thanks to a complex cocktail of biological and behavioral traits.
Congratulations to all our official and soon-to-be Aspira centenarians. Whether it’s eating an apple a day, like James Sutherland or drinking a daily glass of champagne, like Marjorie Ward, each and every one of you has mastered the art of going long and strong. You are portrait-worthy inspirations to us all.
