BY TERRY BUTLER

YDIA NEWTON, A GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER of four, celebrated her 110th birthday in March, 2004. Lydia is officially recognized as the thirty-seventh oldest person in the world, and probably the oldest Seventh-day Adventist.

I recently spent a delightful two and a half hours with Mrs. Newton, her daughter Marguerite Rader, and her son-in-law, Richard in their Arizona home. When I greeted her, I said, "Are you really 110?"

With a twinkle in her eye and a big smile she laughed, "Yes, and I have a birth certificate to show you."

It's hard to believe that Lydia is 110. The average life expectancy in the United States the year she was born was about 47 years. How do you describe someone who has lived in parts of three centuries, was born 10 years before the Wright brothers flew the first plane, and who obviously still enjoys life? Quite simply: Wonderful!

Mrs. Newton is a gracious, bright woman with an infectious laugh, a positive outlook, and an alert mind. She is able to move around well, although she does use a walker since breaking her wrist at church. Her eyesight is slowly failing. While she can recognize people close up, she is unable to read or see the television. Lydia misses very much doing her needlework and crocheting. These days Lydia wears a hearing aid, but she really looks and acts like a healthy 85-year-old.

Long Ago and Far Away
Lydia was born at home into the Scheppler family on March 23, 1893, in Kankakee, Illinois. Her brother, George, went on horseback to fetch the midwife, who made the trip in a horse and buggy. "I was the last one of seven," she says. "The little runt." There were three girls and four boys in the Scheppler family; the eldest, Mary, was 20 years old when Lydia was born.

Both of Lydia's parents came from Alsace in Lorraine, France, and migrated to the United States, where they met and married. The family lived on a farm. It was a hard life with few conveniences. Their cows were milked by hand, and clothes were washed on scrubboards.

The Schepplers were Lutherans, but all their neighbors were Catholics. "When I was very young, Elder David Paulson came from the sanitarium in Chicago to give my parents Bible studies," Lydia remembers. "We traveled 12 miles by horse and buggy to the meeting place. My mother was baptized a Seventh-day Adventist when I was young. But I am not sure about my father. He was gored by a bull and died when I was just 6 years old."

While the boys did most of the work on the farm, one of Lydia's responsibilities was to milk the cow early each morning. She also worked in the garden and helped plow the fields with the horse and plow.

"Did you get much exercise?" I asked rhetorically.

"Oh, yes, there was lots and lots of walking with the plowing."

Lydia apparently used to laugh a lot when she was a child. On occasions, when an aunt visited she would inquire, "Is Lydia still laughing?" Her optimistic outlook has stayed with her all her life, although life hasn't always been easy.

All in the Family
It is likely that genetics contributed to Lydia's long life. Her mother died from influenza in 1927 at the age of 76. Her sister, Mary, was very arthritic and died in 1944. Sister Emily lived to 93 years of age. Brother Ben died at 63 years of age, George was 96, and Ed was about 104. Ed, George, and Lydia were the Adventists of the family. Lydia was baptized when she was 19 years of age.

In 1912 Lydia married Lloyd Newton in Lodi, California. Lloyd was the son of Myron Wallace Newton, a professor of astronomy at Pacific Union College. J. N. Loughborough, noted Adventist preacher and author from the nineteenth century, conducted the service. Lydia and Lloyd had three children--two boys, Robert and Myron, and one girl, Marguerite. Robert was a diabetic and died six years ago.

After their wedding Lydia and Lloyd worked in Nevada, hauling silver ore by wagon to meet the stage, which then took the ore to Fallon, Nevada. "They call me a gypsy," says Mrs. Newton, explaining how she enjoyed living in more than 75 locations in the 38 years she raised a family with her husband. "My husband always worked, and I wanted to see the country."

The family moved to Ripon, near Modesto, California, when Marguerite was 4 years of age. They lost everything, all their belongings, in a house fire. The only thing that they were able to save was a sack of beans near the door to the porch.

When Lloyd died in 1950, Lydia moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Marguerite and Richard, and she has been with them ever since. At the time they bought a ranch on the Rogue River in Ditch Creek, Oregon. They attended the Grants Pass church.

Richard and Marguerite had no experience with farming, and it was Lydia, at the age of 57, who taught them how to milk cows and do the farming. "People called us the cowboys from Hollywood," laughed both mother and daughter. Lydia taught Marguerite and Richard how to make cottage cheese and butter and helped plant the garden. At one time they had 200 chickens and 200 white-faced cattle, as well as two milk cows.

Secrets of Longevity
I wanted to know Lydia Newton's secret of living so long. "I had a wonderful mother. She used to grow a wonderful garden. We had all kinds of plants, everything that we could grow. We ate very well from the things in the garden. We had cows and drank lots of milk and buttermilk and made butter. We also used to grow corn and oats.

"I never smoked and I never drank." Then with a little chuckle, "Well, actually, I did try a little bit once.

"I've never been a vegetarian but I've never eaten pork; and I eat beef and chicken only occasionally. I'm not a big meat eater. But I love beans, and I love potatoes and other vegetables--peas and carrots. I love pasta and noodles, and I eat eggs. Almost every day I have a bowl of oatmeal. And I take a little mineral oil each night."

"How much water do you drink?" I asked.

With a little chuckle and a wry smile, "Not as much as I should. I should try to drink more water."

"How much time do you spend sleeping?"

Again with a laugh: "I wake up early when the sun rises. I have to wait in bed, lying there until I hear the others getting up before I get up, so I don't disturb them."

"That's about 7:00 in the morning," adds Marguerite. "But we do enjoy our afternoon nap--it's rejuvenating."

Marguerite Rader and Lydia Newton look like sisters, laugh like sisters, and finish each other's sentences. They have celebrated more than a half century of friendship and companionship. The two women have shared a commitment to each other and to the world around them. "Mother is wonderful," enthuses Marguerite. "She is very active. She takes care of herself, bathes and dresses herself, makes her own bed, cleans her room. She also helps with the other housework.

"Mother likes to go out for walks. We go out a lot, and I take Mother with me. She enjoys eating out in restaurants. Mexican food is one of her favorites."

"What role has God and faith played in your life?"

"God has always been important in my life," says Lydia. "Helping others has been very important too. I'm not an up-front person. But I've helped with lots of children's Sabbath schools, crafts in Vacation Bible School, and other activities in the church."

Hobbies, crafts, and sewing for family have been important to Lydia Newton. Church members have nicknamed her Dorcas. "I liked crafts. I used to knit and do needlework and make quilts and crocheting." Until she was 106 she knit sweaters for ADRA. As her daughter showed me several beautiful rugs her mother had made, Marguerite said, "In 2000 Mother knitted 50 sweaters to send overseas for ADRA and crocheted afghan lap rugs for nursing homes."

Their Professional Opinion
"What do your doctors say?" I asked.

"'Whatever you are doing and whatever you are eating, continue to do that.'"

When she was 109, her 10-year-old pacemaker started to fail. But she was a good candidate for a new one. Her cardiologist, Dr. Bruce Peek, said, "Her symptoms were easily controlled with simple pacemaker revision surgery, and she is good for another 10 years. Mrs. Newton is an incredibly bright and vivacious woman, with a cheerful laugh that makes you laugh with her."

Mother and daughter laughingly told a story about the local medical clinic. In 1998, when her doctor moved away, Lydia was assigned to another doctor in the clinic. When she turned up for her next appointment, she found that she was visiting a pediatrician. The office manager had looked at Lydia's chart, saw that she was born in '93 and assumed it was 1993, making her 5 years old.

When I inquired why they joined the Adventist Health Study, Marguerite's response was quick. "Why not? When we heard [about it], we were happy to--it always helps somebody." Marguerite helped her mother complete the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2) questionnaire. The Raders, both 89 years of age, are also participants in the health study.

Added her mother, "It's a good idea. It's a wonderful thing to do."

"Mother has a motto," says Marguerite. "'Never wish for something you don't have, and you will always enjoy what you do have.' I think that Mother's cheerfulness and contentment has helped her enjoy a long life. We like to do the same things, and she's taught me everything I know."

Family is important to Lydia Newton; helping others enjoy life comes a close second.

As I was leaving, Mrs. Newton asked, "Now, you'll come to my birthday party next year, won't you?" I gave her a hug and a kiss. She smiled and laughed.

I felt blessed; it had been a special afternoon.

I'm planning to be at her 111th party. And I am sure Lydia will still be laughing.

_________________________
Terry Butler, Dr.P.H., is associate director of the Adventist Health Study-2, currently under way by the Loma Linda University School of Public Health.