Georgia Magazine - January 2024 - 24

THE 100 CLUB
What can we learn from Georgians who have lived 100 years or more?
By Amber Lanier Nagle
S
unshine streams through a glass door and
spotlights two magnificent houseplants in
Mary Roper's Woodstock apartment: an
African violet plant brimming with deep-purple
flowers and a massive Christmas cactus preparing to
burst into bloom just in time for the holidays. Roper
sits nearby with a puzzle book balanced on her lap.
" Two years ago, just before my 100th birthday,
someone asked me what I wanted, " she says. " I said,
'A card would be nice,' and then when June came
around, guess what I got? One hundred birthday
cards! What a surprise! "
She opened each and every card from family
members, friends and people from her church-a
great way to commemorate her 100th trip around
the sun.
The average life expectancy for people in
the United States is 76.4 years. At 102, Roper isn't
just beating the odds; she's crushing them. She is
considered a " centenarian, " a remarkable individual
who has lived 100 years or more.
It's no secret that humans are living longer and
leading healthier lives, thanks in part to improvements
in hygiene practices, such as the chlorination
of water; advances in pharmaceuticals and medical
treatments, such as antibiotics, vaccines and stents
in arteries; and progress made in the technology
realm, such as 3D mammography to detect breast
cancers early. Researchers who study " blue zones "
(communities with large percentages of people who
have lived beyond 100) point to five key behaviors
that may extend life: interacting regularly with
family; not smoking; consuming a diet consisting
of mostly plant-based foods; maintaining a regimen
of consistent exercise; and socializing.
Of course, genes and gender are factors in
the aging process, too. About 40 percent of human
life expectancy is associated with one's DNA, and
women typically live longer than men.
The ultra-elderly must know other secrets for
extending life span, right? We asked three Georgia
centenarians to weigh in.
24 Georgia Magazine January 2024
Above: Mary Roper married Lloyd
Carter Roper in 1940. Right: Roper
stays sharp by reading and solving
puzzles.
Mary Roper, 102, of Woodstock
'Find a reason to be happy and
just keep going.'
R
oper was born in 1921 in Cobb County, the middle child of seven
children.
" During the Depression, times were hard, " she says. " My father started
farming, and we all helped. We ate a very natural diet of the vegetables we
grew and animals we raised-chickens, pigs and cows. My daddy bought
sugar and flour from the store, but that was about it. "
She married Lloyd Carter Roper in 1940, and they started a family. Her
husband left to fight in World War II in 1943, and for three years, Roper and
her firstborn son lived in a small two-room house near her church.
" It was a lonely time, but then he finally came home from the war, " she
remembers with a smile.
After their three children were grown and out of the house, Roper
started a 20-year career at Kennestone Hospital, where she worked in both
the gift shop and admissions office before retiring in 1984.
AMBER LANIER NAGLE
COURTESY MARY ROPER
Georgia Magazine - January 2024

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