AU students get insight into long, happy life
By Linda Girardi For The Beacon-News July 11, 2011 6:14PM
Floyd Hoffman, 93, shares his secrets to successful aging with students of Dr. John Lloyd's pathophysiology class at Aurora University. | Jeff Cagle~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: July 15, 2011 2:24AM
AURORA — Floyd Hoffman has the art of youth down to basic science.
“I never worry about something that I can’t do anything about,” he said.
Hoffman, 93, became a textbook study of aging gracefully through attitude and lifestyle for 27 Aurora University sophomore nursing students completing a five-week science course on pathophysiology — the study of diseases.
John Lloyd, AU associate professor of biology, invited the North Auroran to share his secrets on aging with the class. “Floyd defines successful aging,” Lloyd said.
“Our future nursing students will interact with aging baby boomers. We want to introduce them to an elderly person who is an example that you can have it all,” Lloyd said.
Hoffman walked into Room 118 of Stephens Hall with a skip in his step and kept his audience engaged for 45 minutes about how he’s living the golden years, with a few anecdotes about his life mixed in.
“Dr. Lloyd tells me I have good genes. I don’t wear jeans,” he told the class, drawing laughter.
Hoffman, a World War II veteran, said he lives independently. He said he has three square meals a day and stays physically active through exercise. He does his own laundry and household chores, including mowing the lawn, and he keeps his mind alert by finishing a book a week of crossword puzzles. He goes to church on Sundays.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with a cane,” he said.
Hoffman said he enjoys his two children, eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and black Labrador named Molly.
A widow, Hoffman said he misses his beloved wife, Marjorie.
“We met on a blind date, in the moonlight in the summertime. Our marriage only lasted 64 years and five days,” he told the class of 19- and 20-year-old predominantly female students.
Hoffman, who originally hails from Michigan, attended Ypsilanti College. He said he married the love of his life before his service in the U.S. Army. After the military, the couple relocated to Illinois, where he had a successful career as a materials equipment salesman.
Hoffman said another secret ingredient is his friends, young and old.
“I wrote a letter to a friend today. I cherish my friends,” he said.
He suggested the students enjoy their college years and stay worry-free.
“I know there’s a lot of studying, but don’t worry about tests. You’ll have tests all of your life,” Hoffman said.
The AU students found Hoffman energetic and inspiring.
“I have never met someone that is Floyd’s age who is so positive,” said 20-year-old Lindsey McCloud of North Aurora.
“As a waitress, I wait on a lot of elderly people, and more often than not they are crabby. He is so positive and energetic. It’s great that he doesn’t consider himself old — he says he is still aging,” McCloud said.
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