Celebrating Centenarians
PORTRAITS OF LONGEVITY BY THOMAS SANDERS
Veteran broadcaster Willard Scott is likely best known for his reports on the joys of living to be 100. His colleagues on NBC’s Today show felt that the peripatetic weather reporter had made aging cool through his on-air birthday celebrations of ordinary people with extraordinary life spans. When Scott fully retired in 2015, there were 76,974 centenarians according to the U.S. Census, a population that is projected to grow to a million by the year 2050.
What is the secret to longevity? At Belmont Village, we decided to start by asking the experts, our own centenarians. Belmont Village is regularly home to about 50 residents who have made it to the 100-year mark. We celebrate their longevity through the portraits of these remarkable people. In their stories you will find common themes that shed light on their secrets to living a long life. Family. Faith. Love. Career. Luck. Eva Altkorn of Belmont Village Glenview, IL, age 100, sums it up, “Work hard and be nice.”
Certainly medical advances and lifestyle improvements play a major role in living longer. We are confident that living at Belmont Village and senior living communities throughout the nation also contribute to the growing trend. Informed by science and now with decades of experience, we are the experts at promoting health and well-being in our senior years, the right stuff for a long life.
We are deeply grateful for the continuing creative collaboration with photographer Thomas Sanders whose talent honors the residents of Belmont Village. Thanks to the residents and family members for letting us come into their lives. If their enthusiasm and vitality are any indication of what’s to come, living 100 years will be a fact for many more people and as joyful as Willard Scott first showed it to be.
Jeffrey M. DeBevec
Senior Vice President of Communications Belmont Village
