Man, 110, who still drives his car every day, has simple tips for longevity – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

At the age of 110, Vincent Dransfield still drives his car every day, gets coffee at the convenience store and buys lunch.

He lives independently in his own home in Little Falls, New Jersey, where he has lived since 1945.

The super centenarian doesn’t need any help with daily living, so his grandchildren visit him once a week to bring him some groceries and call him every other day to check in, but otherwise he is self-sufficient.

Dransfield is in good health, aside from sore knees and other minor problems, and navigates between the main floor of the house, his upstairs bedroom and the basement where he does his laundry without any problems, his family says.

When asked how he feels at the age of 110, Dransfield jokingly says he’s ready to put on boxing gloves and box.

“I manage to do everything,” he tells TODAY.com. “I drive pretty well.”

“He drives fine – better than some other people I see,” Erica Lista, Dransfield’s granddaughter, told TODAY.com.

She and her brother periodically check on Dransfield’s driving to make sure he is doing well. Family, friends and doctors are amazed at his healthy longevity, she says, noting that at age 49 she has more health problems than her grandfather did at age 110.

When Dransfield recently needed an endoscopy for a swallowing problem, the medical staff was stunned that he had only had anesthesia once in his entire life, Lista says. She noticed that the anesthesiologist’s hands were shaking as he administered the drug to a 110-year-old man.

It is unusual for men to live to be a hundred years old; only 15% of centenarians are male, according to Boston University’s New England Centenarian Study. The reasons are unclear.

The club of supercentenarians – people who live to be 110 years or older – is even more exclusive. Men make up only about 10% of this age group, the study notes.

The world’s oldest man is currently 111 years old and lives in England, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which maintains a list of validated supercentenarians. Dransfield is currently the 8th oldest man on the list.

Born on March 28, 1914, Dransfield enjoyed not only an incredibly long life, but a healthy long life, with a fit mind and body. He says he has never had any serious illnesses, such as cancer or heart disease. Dransfield has simply always been healthy and has no headaches or back pain, Lista added.

“I’ve been very, very lucky in my life,” Dransfield told TODAY.com in 2023.

He has one child, three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His wife of 54 years died in 1992.

Many family members, friends and firefighters recently gathered at the firehouse where he once served as chief to celebrate his 110th birthday.

“The craziest thing is how excited people are to talk about him and celebrate him,” Lista says. “It’s just heartwarming to see how many people find him as special as we do.”

Here’s what you need to know about the super centenarian and his advice for longevity:

Spend time doing what you love

Dransfield was a member of the local volunteer fire department for more than 80 years and served as chief for a time.

When asked what brought him happiness and kept him going in life, he quickly answers: “The fire brigade. … I met so many friends.”

Lista says her grandfather remained a regular at the firehouse as he grew older and became part of the “3 to 5 club.”

“After my grandmother passed away, that’s actually what kept him going. Every day from 3 to 5 he went to the firehouse, and all the old guys were hanging out there. That looked like his family,” she notes.

As for Dransfield’s professional life, he worked for 60 years – most of it as an auto parts manager – before retiring in his late 70s: “I still wanted to work, but my wife said it’s time to quit” , he remembers. .

Milk does the body good

Dransfield left school after the 8th grade and went to work on a dairy farm at the age of 15 to help support his family. He supplied milk for five years and drank as much of it as he wanted, which he said gave him a healthy boost – especially during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

“I drank milk and ate well because I worked on a farm. And I often think back and think that they gave me a good start in life and for the bones in my body,” says Dransfield.

Milk still plays a role in his life: the super centenarian says he drinks Ovaltine – a milk-flavored and nutritional supplement – ​​every day after breakfast for his longevity. He’s been so outspoken about it that when he turned 100, everyone drank Ovaltine at his birthday party, Lista says.

Stay active

Dransfield didn’t lift weights or work out in a gym, but he kept moving throughout his life.

“I was 21 years old when I joined the fire department and that’s the drill I got every day: answering the fire alarms in Little Falls,” he says.

“I was active and ran away when the alarm went off, for forty years. Then, for the next forty years, (I continued) whenever I felt like it.”

Structured exercises amuse him. “He laughs at people who jog. He says, ‘Where are they running to?’” says his granddaughter.

Enjoy what you eat

The super centenarian loves Italian food, burgers, salads, milk chocolate and other sweets. He drinks a cup of coffee every day and the occasional beer, but does not like other forms of alcohol.

He wasn’t exactly on a Blue Zones diet.

“The funny thing is that he wasn’t careful with his diet,” says Lista.

‘He ate what he wanted. He has never watched his weight. He has never had to lose weight. He has always been fit.”

At age 110, Dransfield still cooks for himself, although that usually means heating soup on the stove or microwaving prepared meals, Lista notes. He likes to buy meals from a restaurant down the street from his house.

It’s never too late to fix a bad habit

Dransfield started smoking when he was 50 after a fellow firefighter offered him a cigarette and he liked it. But twenty years later he quit.

“He told me one day that he was just going to quit smoking,” Lista recalls. “He threw away the cigarettes and that was it. He just never smoked again.”

Stay positive

Dransfield considers himself an optimist. He also has a great sense of humor and likes to know the name of everyone in town, his granddaughter says.

“Knowing people and loving people helps me live longer,” Dransfield says.

“He always had such a positive, happy attitude, even when my grandmother passed away. He lived for her, but he was determined to live,” Lista added.

“I remain positive. I never think differently when something is wrong,” Dransfield notes.

“I am doing well and I hope the good Lord keeps me that way.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: