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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Toasting longevity

Centenary birthdays become more common among elderly

Dorothy Kuhta, left, and Margaret Kunkel toast their 100th birthdays during a party April 14 at Brookdale Place at Northpointe in Spokane. Kuhta’s son, Bob, looks on. (Jesse Tinsley)

Just live. Perhaps that’s the secret to living to age 100 – 20 years longer than the average life expectancy.

The idea was to have local centenarians give advice to baby boomers, the generation just younger than most of their children, on how to age well and hit the 100 mark. Centenarians are still considered rare, but are becoming more common with advancements in medicine and health care.

Yet by age 100, that sage advice is largely lost.

“Margaret, do you have any words of wisdom to tell us young gals and guys?” asked Elise Biviano, executive director of Brookdale Place at Northpointe during a recent 100th birthday celebration for Margaret Kunkel and Dorothy Kuhta.

“No,” Kunkel said, looking around blankly. She returned to licking frosting off her fingers.

The facility threw a party for the ladies, born in 1915 during World War I when Babe Ruth made his pitching debut and the inauguration of transcontinental telephone service when Alexander Graham Bell called San Francisco from New York.

The women married in their early 20s, during the Depression years of the mid-1930s

Family and friends gathered, drank Champagne, and ate cupcakes and fruit spears and sang “Happy Birthday.”

Mary Kunkel said later that she didn’t think her mother-in-law grasped that it was her birthday party. Although healthy and vibrant looking, Kunkel hasn’t had many “good days” lately as far as her memory.

That’s part of aging, especially when you live to 100. About 50 percent of U.S. centenarians have dementia and only 20 to 25 percent are cognitively intact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Kuhta knew it was her birthday and enjoyed the party. Swaying to the live music and enjoying the attention from television and newspaper reporters.

“I have no secret,” Kuhta said with a big smile and shake of the head. “I’m just shocked.”

She said she never gave birthdays, or aging, a thought. Then she added that she has a great family that “grew up together and vacationed together.”

Yet Kuhta’s family was surprised she was so aware and engaged. They hadn’t seen her that vibrant in months.

Mia Walden, Northpointe’s sales and marketing manager, said the facility has had more than a “handful” of centenarians over the years and is seeing more all the time. Currently Northpointe has a high population of 97- and 98-year-olds, largely because the facility offers one of the highest levels of care in Spokane, Walden said.

Between 1980 and 2010, there was a 65.8 percent increase in the number of American centenarians, according to the Census Bureau. Currently, people older than 85 make up the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population.

Thanks to the baby boomers (1946-1964), from 2000 to 2030, the number of people 80 and older in the United States will double to 19.5 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 2008 CDC article, lists “survival instructions” for the oldest of the old:

• Stay active

• Eat right

• Avoid tobacco

• Have social networks

• Do cognitive activities

It’s the same advice given for years. Yet longevity also requires resilience, which the article said in short means the ability to withstand stress. Self-reliance is a key factor of resilience, according to a Swedish study cited in the CDC article.

Both Kunkel and Kuhta have lived by these principles. They were both active and social. Kunkel always worked and eventually became a real estate broker. Kuhta raised three boys, always ate healthy and started walking daily in her 50s.

“Mom’s healthier than I’ll ever be,” said Kuhta’s son Bob, 75, who has bad knees, two bouts with cancer and other health issues.

Dick Kunkel said his mom never thought she would live to her 90s, much less 100.

“I’d like to hope I have some of her genes,” said Kunkel, who recently retired as Spokane Public Radio general manager.

Researchers are studying centenarians more as people live longer, attempting to pinpoint the biological, psychological and sociological traits that allow some people to live decades longer than the general population. The National Institute on Aging has reported that exceptional longevity tends to run in families. It is also supporting more studies to learn more about the secret to a long, healthy life.

Earlier this month, 115-year-old Jeralean Talley of Michigan became the world’s oldest living person, according to the Gerontology Research Group. Talley, who was born May 23, 1899, attributes her longevity to God.

“It’s coming from above,” Talley told the Detroit Free Press. “That’s the best advice I can give you. It’s not in my hands or yours.”

Bob Kuhta has some other advice, perhaps learned from his mother.

“One day at a time,” he said. “It’s just a good way to be.”