Anne Marie Eaton's life reads like a novel: fascinating, dramatic, and page-turning! A look back on her last 100 years reveals a life well-lived, rich with great purpose and fullness.
She and her young family fled from Germany at the beginning of WWII, to Atlanta, her only frame of reference coming from the book, "Gone With the Wind". While in Germany, she and her husband, whose family owned a steel mill, lived comfortably. However, upon arrival to Atlanta, they survived on her husband's $15 weekly salary, who found employment as a gofer at a construction site.
Their appreciation of learning motivated them to learn English, and eventually enroll in night classes at Georgia Tech, where Mr. Eaton later taught as a Fulbright professor in industrial engineering from 1948 to 1972.
As a survivor of cancer and stroke, Ms. Eaton continues to live and thrive in the King's Bridge community, where she uses the computer daily, keeping up with local and international news, and also takes aerobics classes three times a week, supplemented by walking a mile each day.
Although she doesn't think of herself as 100 years old, she is thoughtful in her response to why she's lived so long. "I had relatives living into their 90s in the 1700s. It is my lifestyle. I had a wonderful husband, and like all Germans, we yelled like dogs and cats. That is why I'm still here."
Founder of the Life Enrichment Program, Inc. for adults over age 55, Ms. Eaton is now recognized as the oldest living alumna of both Georgia State and Georgia Tech, where she studied Applied Science, Gerontology, and Sociology. She is the author of five books, with another on the way.
To learn more about Ms. Eaton, visit www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=1640
Be well.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
