I stumbled across this article on Facebook via one of the relatives of this Thousand Oaks, CA woman who just turned 107. Imagine my paleo delight when I read the phrase (bolded below) about bacon grease. Haha. Does anyone else stumble across these anecdotes about longevity, where the young are shocked at how granny could live so long eating such 'unhealthy,' 'fatty' foods?

:-)

"Two days before turning 107 years old, Lorena Volz celebrated her birthday with a vodka tonic and chocolate cake topped with candles as she was surrounded by three generations of family members — including several great-grandchildren.

"I don't have a secret. It just happened," said Volz, who was born Oct. 9, 1905. "I guess I got the right genes."

Volz was the guest of honor Sunday at a party in Thousand Oaks at the home of son Don, and daughter-in-law Kay.

"She's pretty cool," said her great-grandchild, 19-year-old Chloe Volz. "I think about how she was born before women could vote. She lived through two world wars and the Depression, and she's still going strong. She's always happy. You never see her not smiling."

"She has a warm attitude and she's always happy," said Chloe's brother, 17-year-old Sam Volz.

Don Volz jokingly attributed his mother's long life to "orneriness, and doing all the wrong things. She ate the worst foods in the world. She cooked her fish in bacon grease and her sister lived to be 100."

"I attribute her longevity to her Finnish and German genes," said her granddaughter, Kathy Mardirossian. "Hopefully, I've inherited them, too."

Born in Oscoda, Mich., Volz lived in Detroit and Saginaw, Mich.; Mesa, Ariz.; and Marco Island, Fla., before moving to Thousand Oaks. She has been living at Hillcrest Manor, an assisted-living home, for seven years.

"We put her in Hillside Manor when she was 100 because she was falling and not doing well. She's been there seven years now, and she just thrives," Kay Volz said. As far as her life span is concerned, "it must be genetic because she did everything — she drank quite a bit and smoked until she was 95."

Volz had odd jobs throughout her life and didn't have one profession, Kay Volz said. She married Harold Volz in 1930, but he died in 1969 and she was on her own for quite a while.

"Lorena is a lovely young lady for 107," said Severino Lozano, a registered nurse at Hillside Manor who has known Volz for several years. "She's very with it. When I first came here to take care of her, she commented on my mustache. She said, 'I don't like that mustache; you need to shave it off.' That's the type of personality she has — she speaks her mind. She's kind of stubborn, and she knows what she wants, so we try not to mess with her routine as much as possible."

Volz is the oldest person who has ever lived at Hillside Manor, Lozano said. "We have one who's 101, but not as with it and together as Lorena. She still watches her football and still reads her paper."

Lozano partly attributes her longevity to her family.

"They are wonderful and always coming to visit and always engaging her," he said. "It's also her attitude. She's very giving and selfless — she engages her family and even strangers. It's very inspiring to see."

In her spare time, Volz enjoys crocheting, doing crossword puzzles and spending time with family.

"The only thing she has is a pacemaker," Kay Volz said. "She just had it replaced a month ago. Her cardiologist said it's good for another 10 years — he said she has the heart of a 25-year-old."

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/oct/09/to-woman-celebrates-107th-birthday/#ixzz29O9PbSPI - vcstar.com