# How many people do you personally know (or know of) who are age 90 or older? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 15, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278 "2016-01-15T21:45:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/21 "2016-01-16T04:02:36Z")
I know a couple a few…but then again, I work on computers for a living. Most of my customers are a wee bit older than I, and a few are considerably older. I had a charming lady come in the other day who told me two or three times that she was 96. My family, on the other hand - we tend to drop dead well before 90. ETA (actually, right around 69.) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/22 "2016-01-16T04:09:09Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > No one. > > Nor have I ever. > … > I’m only 37 and don’t hang out at nursing homes. One of the failings of our society is our sequestration of our elders. Old people need young people, and vice-versa. The people I’ve known over 90 are all gone now, but I remember them and value what I learned from them. One was a professor who taught into his 90s. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/23 "2016-01-16T16:15:29Z")
I visit a nursing home once a week, so my numbers may(?) be skewed. There are 5 ladies(it’s usually just females that make it this long) 90+, who still have it together enough to make visiting enjoyable, and the give and take can be quite spirited sometimes. One fine lady, my particular fave, is 98, and if it wasn’t for a busted hip 5 years ago, she’d be home keeping house( a house in which she lived for NINETY years) I take her out for lunch and shopping, and always appropriate in her conversations, she gives as good as she gets. She hates the cold weather, but braves it, sans hat((What? Mess up my new hairdo???) in order to get out and “blow off the stink.” I hope I’m as together as she is when I hit my 90’s. There was one scrappy ol’ lady(lived to just shy of 102,buried THREE husbands, yes, they were all dead) who loved dirty jokes, and learned to crochet at age 100. Each family reunion I go to, we usually kinda’ know who’ll be getting the NEXT Longevity Award. They’re all very proud of it, and want to hold onto the honor for as long as they can. The current one? 96 this year, and just stopped driving. Yikes! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/24 "2016-01-16T17:36:42Z")
My paternal grandmother lived to be 91, and my maternal grandmother will be 89 in a few months. I’d say she’s got a real good chance of making it to 90. It makes me happy to know my nieces actually will remember their great-grandmothers. I only have a vague memory of my dad’s mom’s mom as a very old lady when I was very young. Several years ago when I still worked at a bank I remember my boss asking me if she was crazy giving a 92-year-old man a 5-year car loan. I said “Not if it’s ‘so-and-so’, he’ll probably outlive all of us!” I still have my accounts at that bank and sure enough, the last time I stopped in there I saw the now 95-year-old man who was hanging out chatting with everyone. He still remembered me too. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/25 "2016-01-16T19:43:12Z")
I was a good friend of[Calvin Spann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_J._Spann), an original Tuskegee Airmen pilot, who recently died at age 90. The oldest women I know are two sisters, aged 96 and 95. Both are still active. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/26 "2016-01-16T19:52:00Z")
I’m 48 years old, and have a living grandmother (96). A year ago, I had two (93 or so). Unfortunately for me, the men in my family aren’t nearly so long-lived. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/27 "2016-01-16T19:54:39Z")
I haven’t asked how many of Grandma’s old folks’ home residents are over 90, but at 102 she’s all pouty because there’s a 103 gent who’s got her beat. Both of my great-grandmothers on that side died in their 90s, as did Gramps, and both of my sister in law’s grandmothers. Several of my parents’ eldest friends within their generation are already 90. Several of my father’s aunts and uncles died in their 90s: the most common CoDs for that side of the family in the last 300 years are cancer, old age and “sudden lead poisoning” in that order (the last one has thankfully not repeated since 1938 and we hope it stays that way); “old age” for those means over 85. One of Dad’s uncles married at 55, and he and his 56yo bride were married for over 40 years. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/28 "2016-01-16T21:36:11Z")
My BIL’s father is and my SIL’s father just died at was the same age as the father aforementioned Celebrities? Wilber on Mr Ed, Alan Young, was born in Northern England in 1919-truly amazing! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/29 "2016-01-17T00:20:19Z")
Now it’s only one person, a woman who is ninety-one. My maternal grandmother was the oldest person I ever knew, she was just short of her 108th birthday when she died in 2012. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/30 "2016-01-17T01:09:48Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > …One of Dad’s uncles married at 55, and he and his 56yo bride were married for over 40 years. That’s one for the record books! ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/31 "2016-01-17T01:14:26Z")
Neighbor Olive Mom (almost) many people at her retirement home My friend L’s dad ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/32 "2016-01-17T01:14:40Z")
Oldest person I know is my father-in-law, 79. My parents would have been 104 and 101, but neither of them made it to 70. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/33 "2016-01-17T03:22:31Z")
My step-father is 95. He’s moving from the farm five miles out of town into a small town senior-center, mostly for companionship, not because he can’t drive or take care of himself (he can!). His wife, my mother, died last year just a few months short of 90. He says he’s lonely, but 95-year older widowers have lots of neighbors looking in on them all the time, or so it seems. My phone calls to him always seem to get cut off with “oh - someone’s coming up the driveway, gotta run!” I’m not worried about him… ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/34 "2016-01-17T03:54:52Z")
Oldest person I know is only 77, just 19 years older than I am. How did this happen? I should know more people up there than that! ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/35 "2016-01-17T04:05:00Z")
My paternal grandmother died at 91. A friend of mine died in 2008 at 96. The oldest person I know right now is my next door neighbor. I don’t know his exact age but he served in the Navy in WWII starting in 1942, so if he’s not 90 yet he’s real close (he told us he fudged his age a bit in order to sign up). ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/36 "2016-01-17T04:28:29Z")
One of my great grandmothers made it to 92. My brother’s grandmother-in-law is 95, and just sent me a Facebook friend request a week or so ago. Her daughter’s mother-in-law died a couple of years ago at pretty close to 100. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/37 "2016-01-17T10:34:43Z")
None. My oldest-living grandparent didn’t make it to 90. My SIL had some very old relatives but they all passed recently. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/38 "2016-01-17T13:17:34Z")
My grandmother died at age 93. She beat my mom in Scrabble two days before she died, and was completely independent until a week before her death. She volunteered with elementary aged kids and did a lot of stuff with church and craft groups. She also traveled a lot. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/39 "2016-01-17T13:27:42Z")
My Father is 94, his wife is 92. Both are very healthy. His oldest brother’s widow is very close to 100. Dad’s wife has two sisters, both in their 90’s I casually know a few people in my home town who are 90. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278/40 "2016-01-17T13:42:43Z")
I know a man who renewed his driver’s license at age 98. The clerk at the License Dept told him that the next time he renews ( 2 years later) there may be a problem , because the computer accepts only 2 digits in the box labelled “age”. Sadly, he didn’t live long enough to put the computer to the test. Altogether, over the past few years, I’ve known a dozen or more people who have marked their 90th birthday. But in most cases, not many birthdays after that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-personally-know-or-know-of-who-are-age-90-or-older/743278.md?page=3)