Home People People: 109-year-old Mazie Ford still volunteering

People: 109-year-old Mazie Ford still volunteering

Mazie Ford

By Anita Mitchell, Broward People, for SouthFloridaReporter.com, Sept 3, 2015 – Mazie Ford celebrated her 109th birthday with three birthday parties.

“One was with a couple of hundred people at the Hemispheres condominium where I live in Hallandale, one was a family dinner party and one was at Memorial Hospital where I have been a community volunteer for nearly 10 years.”  Hallandale Mayor Joy Cooper and Hallandale City commissioner Anthony Sanders joined Mazie for birthday cake.
     Although Mazie did not want to talk about her birthday gifts, she did say that she got some beautiful yarn. “I knit hats for the newborn babies at Memorial Regional Hospital so I need yarn. I make one hat per day. I started doing that job when I turned 100,” she said.
Quote: “I live every day as it is.” – Mazie Ford, born June 28, 1909
     Mazie Ford’s longevity secret? “I have always been a happy person. I have always had a good life. I really love people and I see that they respond to me too,” she said.
    Doctors say the secret to living past 100 is to keep away from cigarettes, staying slim,  keeping your cholesterol and blood pressure down, having good genes and a sense of purpose.
    According to the 2010 census, the United States has 53,000 people over 100 with 4,000 of them in Florida.