A Common Man With Uncommon Character

My Great Uncle Joe passed away last week. You may know of my Uncle Joe. I’ve mentioned him before and you can even find him as one of our SuperClients of the Month.

Uncle Joe died at 103 years old. He was a common man with an uncommon character. My Grandpa Chudy, his younger brother, was the same way.

The Chudy family wouldn’t be the only ones to tell you what a great person Uncle Joe was. At 103 years old his visitation and funeral were well attended. Everyone from his mailman to his bowling buddies at the senior center, even his girlfriend! were there to celebrate his life and say goodbye. It’s sad to see him go. But I don’t know if anyone could’ve asked for a better life.

He was born in Czechoslovakia in a small farming town. He came to America through Ellis Island and eventually settled in St. Clair, Michigan. He barely spoke English, but was a fast leaner and developed friends right away. He married his love, Helen, and remained married until she passed in the early nineties.

I’ll never forget what he told me about my Aunt Helen. After a stroke she was put into a nursing home to be taken care of. After one week my Uncle Joe refused to keep her there and brought her back home. The nurses warned Uncle Joe how much work it would be and cautioned him against it. They told him he wouldn’t last 5 days. "5 years Timmy. 5 years I took care of your Aunt Helen." Wow. I’ll never forget the sacrifice he made so she could stay at home. Never.

Uncle Joe was a common man with uncommon character. And I, along with many others, will miss him.

It wasn’t just the length of his life, but the quality of his life. His life was still rich with relationships. His family and friends were everything to him. And he still had a positive outlook on life. That’s why he made our SuperClient of the Month.

At 103 years old you have to be healthy and to not only keep, but to foster those relationships.

Late last week as I was waiting in line for my coffee I glanced at the Health section of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. The cover story read, How well you age can depend on you.

My Uncle Joe would have agreed. You can read the full article here.

The article goes on to divide aging into essentially 2 categories: genetics and damage. You control one, but not the other.

Thankfully the Chudy genes are strong. But I could easily neglect them. Smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, all that bad stuff can counteract good genes. But my choice to live a healthy lifestyle will lead me to live long years. Hopefully into my hundreds.

You see, most people I talk to care more about quality than quantity. I’ll be willing to bet you don’t care to live to a specific age, but you want to live well to whatever age that might be. You want to be willing and able to reap the work you’ve put in. You want to have the relationships and enjoy the time with those people you love most.

My Uncle Joe would tell you to "Keep busy and stay active." It worked for him. And I hope you make the choice to live a healthy lifestyle.

To your health,

Tim Chudy
Fitness Together

P.S. If you would like more help living a healthy lifestyle, request your complimentary health and fitness consultation here. Or, if you’re not quite ready, you can download our infopack here.