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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday October 3, 2008 - 5 Secret to a long and healthy life is clean living Continued from page 36 In Hazel's lifetime there have been two world wars, a great depression, and a man has walked on the moon. Interviewed in her Oakville home of some 47 years shortly after her most recent birthday celebration, she was sanguine about her age. When she turned 100, she said, there was a big party at the Ramada Inn, lots of hoopla, greetings from the Prime Minister, the Queen, the Mayor and so on. Five years down the road she seems almost blasé. Mentally sharp and independent-minded she feels, "not much different today than yesterday," though clearly the lady enjoys having her sons in town. Jim, 78, is now a Californian, and John, 68, lives in New Jersey. When they're here they play euchre with her into the wee small hours, sometimes go out for Japanese or Chinese food, and along with their respective mates, make a fuss over her. On her birthday this year they put an extra leaf in the table for the family-only party and feasted on a delicious Black Forest cake. What does it feel like to have 105 years on this earth? "I use a walker to get around," Hazel said thoughtfully, "I can't see or hear very well, and I get the vertigo." "Can't say as I recommend it," she said after a slight pause. On the positive side, she allowed, her appetite is good, she enjoys fresh produce, sleeps well, rarely rising before 9 a.m. and still has a regular euchre table with a few friends. She makes her own breakfast - tea, toast, jam and cheese - and reads the Globe and Mail every morning, maybe not front to back, but the Sports section is de rigueur. She's a life-long tennis fan and pulls her chair up close to the TV when there's a tournament on. Currently she's a bit chuffed because one of her favourites, Andy Roddick, just won the China Open. He's a clean cut young man, who hasn't had much to cheer about lately, so Hazel is delighted at his success. "I used to like to watch John McEnroe play and now his brother Patrick is coaching Andy," she said. "I think it's paying off." Hazel met her husband playing tennis in Windsor Ontario, many years ago. "Actually," she corrected, "he met me." "As a young woman I went to the Stratford Business College and learned typing," she explained. "I went to work at the Ford Motor Company in Windsor." Her husband, James S. Urie III, also worked at Ford, and enjoyed tennis. It was Ford that brought them to Oakville in 1961. Jim died suddenly in 1966 leaving Hazel a widow for the past 42 years. Over the years she has made a career of volunteering at the hospital, the IODE, the Red Cross and Maple Grove United Church. The game of bridge has also featured prominently in her life, keeping her brain cells churning, as well as her social life. The shift from bridge to euchre occurred mainly because she found it difficult to manage a handful of 13 cards. The five-card hand of euchre is very much within her grasp, however. At 105 she can't drive a car; gave up her license 13 years ago. Her friend Marge (age 92) does shopping for her and a gardener handles the brute work outside the "I never drank or smoked and seldom had coffee. I loved my volunteer work, though, especially in the snack bar at the hospital, and bridge games. We laughed a lot." Hazel Urie house. "I've become untidy in my old age," she confessed, "and I don't bake anymore." Both John and Jim say they miss her date bars and lemon sponge pie, but they still love her. "I live from day to day," she said mat- ter-of-factly. "I always move slowly, cautiously. One bad fall could do me in. But I've been lucky. I have very little arthritis and none of those nasty diseases that usually kill people." Her secret to longevity? "You don't want to know," she said ruefully. "I never drank or smoked and seldom had coffee. I loved my volunteer work, though, especially in the snack bar at the hospital, and bridge games. We laughed a lot." As we shook hands and said good-bye, she looked into the reporter's eyes. "You too can live to be 100," she said mischievously, "just keep laughing, and cut back on the coffee." of-Town Servi & O u tce ort p Air OAKVILLE UNITED TAXI HAPPY THANKSGIVING! EXPERIENCED DRIVERS YOU CAN DEPEND ON · · · · · Airport Flat Rates Out-of-Town Service Regular In-Town Service 10% Discount On Parcel Service GPS Computerized Dispatch · · · · · Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles Corporate Accounts Welcome Airport Customer Wake-Up Service 10% Senior Discount - In Town More Than 60 Taxis In Our Fleet European Engineering Combined With Traditional Workmanship 24 hour · 7 days a week "Building on the Brightest Ideas Around Glass" 905.338.0044 PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS If you are interested in joining our team, please call 905-338-1762 905.849.0266