Senior Fitness 101: She makes the grade

Green has been a resident of Atria Sugar Land, a local assisted and independent living community, for a little more than four years, and she is by no means content to spend all day sitting around, preferring to remain active whenever possible.

To add a little perspective to her longevity, Green was born in Park County, Texas, in 1911, a year before the Titanic sank, and was married in 1927, halfway through Calvin Coolidge’s presidential administration, when she was only 15 years old.

Green met her future husband Lawrence when she was in her early teens. He played basketball for a local high school, and he was in town for a game. It might not have been love at first sight, but it did not take long for them to become engaged.

“I couldn’t get rid of him, so I married him,” Green said with a laugh. “Kids did silly things back then, just like they do now.”

It seems like it must have been a good decision, though, as Eunice and Lawrence remained married for 63 years until he passed away in 1991. The couple had three daughters and 21 grandchildren, plus a number of great- and great-great-grandchildren that she describes as “too many to count.”

After more than a century of life, Green has no plans to stop any time soon. She still attends a daily aerobics class, and she goes for a walk whenever she gets a chance. In addition, she is known around the Atria facilities as an excellent piano player, as she regularly plays for other residents.

“Just forget age and keep on doing,” Green said. “I never thought anything about my age, ever. In fact, I forgot how old I was.”

Green is living proof that age is just a number, not an obstacle that prevents you from living a happy, active life. However, she says there is no real secret to her longevity, merely years of living a healthy lifestyle.

“I’ve lived a clean, Christian life,” Green said. “I did not drink or smoke or put anything in my body that harms it.”

Maybe there is more to it than that, but it is hard to argue with results.

About Eunice Green
Age: 101
Occupation: Retired
Community Connection: Lives at Atria Sugar Land
Fast Fact: Member of Atria’s Ambassador Club

Chris Marshall is a freelance writer. He can be reached at neighborhoods@chron.com.