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John Jurca is probably older than anyone you know. Next January, he’ll be 100. Born in Akron, Ohio in 1915 to Romanian parents, he started his career as a dishwasher while raising four kids with his beloved wife. After going to night school for 20 years, he finally earned a degree in mechanical engineering and became an electrician. Even though he retired in 1972, he still gets a kick out of solving math problems, inventing his own machines, and doing all his homework. He knows he may enter an afterlife soon, so he recently read the Bible, the Koran, and the Book of Mormon just to cover his bases. We chatted recently about what it’s like to live for a century, his surprising favorite food, and his tips for a long marriage. A condensed and edited version of our conversation follows:
KP: John, thanks for taking the time to talk to me. It’s incredible that you’re still going strong. What’s the best part about living for a whole century? JJ: The best part has been to have a good wife. When you leave the house, you can give her a kiss, and when you come home, you can give her a kiss.
KP: How long were you married?
JJ: 67 years. We married in 1939 and she died in 2005.
KP: That’s quite a long marriage. Any secrets?
JJ: She was the best girl in the world. I couldn’t expect any more than what I had and be grateful for what God gave me. Whenever we walked down the street together, we always held hands. And she usually won every time we had an argument. (laughs)
KP: How come she’d win?
JJ: It’s easier to give in than to make a big deal about nothing. People spend too much time arguing and not enough appreciating each other. But, I argue with my daughter because she is a staunch Republican and I was a born Democrat. (laughs)
KP: You live with your daughter in Texas. How old is she?
JJ: Pretty old, almost 72. She cooks for me, like my wife did. She cooks the best dinners ever.
KP: What’s your favorite food?
JJ: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
KP: Me too! I still eat them.
JJ: Then you’ll live a long time.
KP: If only it were that simple. So what do you do for fun these days? Any hobbies?
JJ: I work on math problems. Some of them take me days to finish. My mind is not what it used to be, so I want to keep it sharp. Yesterday I told my daughter I had no luck with a calculus problem, but the next day I did in five minutes what I couldn’t do in a whole afternoon.
KP: You still remember calculus?
JJ: I learned it in school many years ago. I bought some books and started reading them, so things are coming back to me.
KP: Were you always an active learner?
JJ: Yes, after I retired, I thought, I better learn a little more, so my wife and I registered in community college taking courses in biomedical machinery. I met a young fellow there from Lebanon and he used to come to our house and we would do homework in our basement where I had my books.
KP: So you must have learned quite a lot.
JJ: I did, but I learned more from my wife than I ever did in school. She was a very wise woman. She always paid attention and always told the truth. She was perfect in every way.
KP: What was the best advice she ever gave you?
JJ: To be myself. I am not ashamed of anything.
KP: That is wise. What other insights have you gained along the way?
JJ: My mother taught us all to play in the morning and at night. My parents were good people. When my grandfather was on his deathbed, my brother went to see him. My grandfather asked for a cardboard box where he kept receipts for debts that people owed him, like $5 or $2. My brother said, “What’s this?”
"They already paid me,” my grandfather said. “I don’t need money where I’m going.”
That’s the kind of people I grew up with. People who showed kindness.
KP: Would you describe yourself as kind, too?
JJ: At one point, we had a house in Seattle. I raised vegetables and fruit, like raspberries and grapes. The whole neighborhood was always welcome to come and help themselves to whatever they could find.
KP: What do you think is the most important lesson of all?
JJ: Treat people like you want them to treat you.
