Lenbrook Honors Centenarians During Active Aging Week 2016

With an impish grin, feisty wit and sparkling blue eyes, Mrs. Elizabeth Welch defies her age of 102. In fact, she’s quick to say she’s working on 103. What does she attribute her longevity to? “Playing bridge. I started playing when I was 12 and I still play four times a week. It helps me keep what little sanity I have left,” she chuckles.

Lenbrook is celebrating national Active Aging Week later this month with the opening of its resident art show on Sept. 23 and concluding Oct. 1 with a Centenarian Soiree to honor Mrs. Welch and her five Lenbrook centenarian comrades: Louise McGuire (103), Emily Crum (102), Georgia Harris (101), Jeannette Moon, (100), and Frances Green (100).

Lenbrook is a nationally accredited life plan community in Buckhead and home to 500+ senior residents. As a not-for-profit organization, Lenbrook's mission is to enable its residents to enjoy the gifts of independence, good health and personal fulfillment to the fullest extent possible through engaging programs and services. Its campus features a variety of apartments and suites ranging from independent living and personal care to memory care and skilled nursing.

Mrs. Welch moved into Atlanta’s Lenbrook senior living community with her husband at age 85. “I thought we’d have another six or seven good years ahead of us. Here I am 18 years later,” she said. Her husband passed away just two years ago.

“Age is just a number,” said Lisa Kiely, Lenbrook’s Director of Enrichment. “We focus on maximizing each person’s abilities rather than seeing disabilities. Our enrichment programming, whether it’s tai chi, chair aerobics, excursions or a lecture series, is designed to engage our residents in multiple ways and enable everyone to live their best lives each day.”

Kiely added, “Mrs. Welch is an inspiration and tribute to our positive aging approach to life. We don’t let negative stereotypes of aging hold us back. We participate in Active Aging Week each year to raise awareness, help dispel aging myths and continue to improve the way we age.”

Mrs. Welch shares how she used to be blond, 3 ½ inches taller and some pounds lighter. Nevertheless, she moves very quickly around Lenbrook by herself in her motorized scooter, and with her long white hair proudly pinned up in the back.

She tells how she started driving at 13 (you didn’t need a license back then – you just had to be able to reach the pedals) and drove until she was 90 without a single accident. She triple majored and graduated with honors from Huntingdon College in Alabama in 1935. She danced up until she was 95 and didn’t get hearing aids until she was 100.

Having travelled to all seven continents in her lifetime, Mrs. Welch recalls one of her fondest memories being the time she, her son and her daughter-in-law had dinner in the White House with President Jimmy Carter. “We got to see the private family quarters,” she added. She and her first husband of 40 years lived in Dawson, GA with their four children and operated one of the largest single peanut butter manufacturing plants in the country. For decades, they purchased peanuts from President Carter’s farms.

Today, Mrs. Welch's favorite activities are following politics, music concerts at Lenbrook (she played the piano), reading the newspaper daily, and helping plan and play in the duplicate bridge sessions. “It’s like a cruise ship here. There are so many activities and events going on. I have a happy life. I have a life with more gladness than sadness,” she said.

Established in 2003 and led by the International Council on Active Aging, the theme for Active Aging Week 2016 is “Explore the Possibilities.” The week-long campaign encourages older adults to try something new and adopt a wellness focus in all areas of life.

For more information about the special events at Lenbrook during Active Aging Week, please contact Lenbrook at 404-233-3000 and ask for the Enrichment Department.

Lenbrook (Lenbrook-Atlanta.org)

Lenbrook is the first and only continuing care retirement community in Atlanta to achieve national accreditation by CARF-CCAC. Founded in 1983 and doubling its size in 2008, this not-for-profit senior living community in Buckhead enables its residents to enjoy the gifts of independence, good health and personal fulfillment through engaging programs and services. Its award-winning facilities also offer the security and convenience of excellent on-site, Medicare-certified healthcare services. Visit www.lenbrook-atlanta.org or call 404-233-3000 for more information.