Nancy Jones working out on her 100th birthday at the Winnetka Community House Fitness Center. PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE HANDWERKER/JWC MEDIA
WINNETKA – As she does every Monday, life-long Winnetka resident Nancy Jones arrived promptly to her exercise appointment at the Community House Fitness Center on October 17. She also arrived at a milestone in life: her 100th birthday.
Not many people become centenarians — but believe it or not, it is the fastest-growing portion of the population, according to www.thecentenarian.co/uk. Currently, there are roughly 72,000 centenarians in the United States and about 450,000 worldwide.
When Jones arrived at the Community House with her son Stuart Jones, it seemed like just another Monday. She felt a little tired and her knee was hurting. But that didn’t stop her from climbing down the stairs to the workout area on her own. She suffers from dementia, but she still counted the steps in French and flashed a big smile.
So what’s Jones’s secret to longevity? Maybe it’s her active lifestyle. She works out with personal trainer Bob Davis three mornings a week at the Community House.
“She is feisty. She has personality and likes being active, which is great,” Davis said. It is unusual for people in her age group to leave the house for exercise, he said; he typically visits senior clients at home. To see Jones’s dedication is an inspiration for others exercising at the gym. “She motivates me!” Davis said with a chuckle.
Jones really gets around, according to her son, who takes care of his mother and lives with her in the house on Elm Street where he grew up. Jones rides her three-wheel bike four times a week, frequently biking over to Greeley Elementary School where she went to school — as did her three children.
Stuart likes to tell the story that one day at Greeley, his mother shot baskets with a group who was playing on the court. “They were awestruck. They couldn’t believe it when I told them how old she was,” Stuart said.
Jones has always been an active member of Winnetka. Her father, Dr. E.V.L. Brown, was an ophthalmologist and co-founded The Hadley School for the Blind. In mid-1950s, when the school was on the brink of closure and had only $500 in the bank, Jones founded the Woman’s Board and spearheaded a campaign to raise money for the school. She is credited with starting the Woman’s Board braille holiday card sale, a key fundraiser at Hadley today. She was given Hadley’s President’s Award for 2016.
Jones settled in Winnetka with her husband Clarence Boyd Jones after graduating from Smith College, and raised the children there. She enjoyed living near her children, as well as her six grandchildren. Today Jones also has two great-grandchildren.
Playing sports has always come naturally to Jones. She played basketball and was the pitcher on the softball team at North Shore Country Day School where she attended high school. Jones still likes to play catch with her son.
“She is a natural athlete,” Stuart said about his mom. Indeed, Jones was an avid golfer and club champion at Indian Hill Country Club and a national curling champion. Neighbors often see her chipping on the putting green on her front lawn.
In addition to sports, Jones is also active musically. She plays the piano at the Music Institute twice a week and is involved in a choral group at the North Shore Senior Center in Northfield. Her family gave her a piano for her 85th birthday and she immediately took to it. “She just played from her heart and it was just beautiful music,” Stuart said.
Stuart’s dedication to his mother is apparent. He planned a birthday celebration that included a pond he created just for her, where 100 candles would float on the surface. He believes that being active has slowed his mother’s dementia, which began about 15 years ago. “You can see the transformation of her self-esteem. It just buoys her up,” he said. And he believes that the activity helps her sleep well at night and maintains her good appetite.
Stuart decided to take care of his mother full-time about eight years ago, when he retired from his career as a civil rights attorney. Before that, Stuart and his two siblings cared for their mother. “It’s turned out to be a really fun time in my life,” he said.
Nancy does dumbbell curls with support from her personal trainer Bob Davis (left) and her son Stuart Jones (right). PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE HANDWERKER/JWC MEDIA
Nancy and John Hirka, both regulars at the Winnetka Community House fitness center, share a laugh Wednesday during their sessions. “I hope I’m in that good of shape (at) 100,” John said. PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE HANDWERKER/JWC MEDIA