Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Donna Norton, turning 104 on Thursday, remains active and passionate about football, especially the Kansas City Chiefs.
- Norton, a BYU graduate, shares vivid memories of historical events, including the end of WWII.
- She advises staying positive, curious and being engaged with life.
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Donna Norton is 103 years old — she'll turn 104 on Thursday, Feb. 6 — and while she may be living in a senior living community in Salt Lake City and using her walker ... that doesn't mean she does not know how to enjoy life.
Especially when it comes to the Kansas City Chiefs.
"I like Andy (Reid) and I like Patrick (Mahomes), so I'm going for them," she said, wearing a bright Chiefs-red sweater. "I wish the Super Bowl would hurry up and get here. I'm excited for this game."
A sit down with Norton provides more than an opportunity to talk football. A Brigham Young University graduate, she loves her Cougars and makes time to listen to those games whenever she can.
But sitting down with Norton, you can expect to come away with two thoughts: 1) There's no way she is about to turn 104. She's quick, funny, has an easy laugh, excellent memory and a social life; and 2) Think of everything this woman has seen!
"I went to a reunion of Civil War veterans once," she said. "My friend's grandfather had been in the war and wanted to go to the reunion. She asked if she could bring a friend so I went. I think I'm probably the only person in the world who went to that reunion that is still living."
Born on Feb. 6, 1921, in Alamosa, Colorado, she and her family used a horse and buggy to get around. Cars existed, but with rural areas and communities like hers sitting at a 7,000-foot elevation, cars were still a few years away. That did not stop her from learning how to drive, though. She maintained a driver's license — and continued to get behind the wheel — until she was 90.
The fears of the stock market crash and the ensuing Great Depression are clear memories to her, not details in a book. The same is true with every war of the 20th Century. "There was one war than another war than another war. ... It seemed like it was all one big war," she said. A look back brings those memories to the forefront.
"My favorite day ever was the end of World War II. It was a great day," she recalled. "People were outside, just so happy it was over. It was amazing!"
Norton has some advice for current generations regarding how to live as long as she has. She knows that genetics play a role in this — she had one brother and three sisters who all lived into their 90s —but believes other actions in our control can still have an impact.
Being positive, keeping the mind busy, being curious about what is around you, eating well, protecting your skin and, although she did not say this directly, she inferred a breakup with modern technology.
"We didn't have any of these modern conveniences that you have around now," she said. "But we had a good time. We did a lot of camping in the mountains. It was just a good time. It was a lot different than the way kids grow up today. We liked it all."
The television was a big change, especially for a family that used the radio for entertainment and news. Norton was a big reader and still is, with the help of audiobooks. When she was nearly 40 years old, her favorite book, "To Kill A Mockingbird," was published. She was moved by the story and the topic as racism was and is something that upsets her.
"She's just an amazing woman and very funny," said Debbie Thorn, Norton's daughter. "One day, she said, 'We're gonna go through the funeral.' So we made some changes and talked about some other things. Then she said, 'OK, now we set the date.' That's just so typical of my mother."
Norton has no birth certificate, has never had a cavity and loved to ski so much. She misses many of her friends who are now gone, the one bad part about being nearly 104 years old, but she remembers her times with them fondly.
She has plenty to complain about, all things considered. She is legally blind — "Eyes weren't meant to last 104 years," she said — and can't move as well as she used to. With her hearing aid, she finds the common spaces at her home at Escalante at Coventry assisted living facility too loud, forcing her to spend her time in her room.
Regardless, Norton still keeps a positive attitude. And a curious mind.
"I just want to see what happens next!" she said. "I've seen so much so I want to keep seeing what's ahead. Even the Super Bowl."
