Copyright NBC10 Boston
Customers who walk into Anne Angioletti’s jewelry store may never suspect she’s 101 years old. The centenarian works six days a week, running her business full-time and regularly heading into New York City to buy new merchandise. Angioletti still drives a car, lives independently in her own apartment, and goes out with friends every Saturday night for dinner and some dancing. She’s energetic, stylish and youthful. When a reporter tells her she looks amazing, the great-great-grandmother is matter-of-fact. “I work at it. It's not easy,” Angioletti tells TODAY.com. “She is a beautiful woman, inside and out,” her granddaughter, Alison Rubach, 49, says. “People just can't believe it with her. Not just how old she is, but how she lives her life — that she's not at home, she's active, busy, and running a business six days a week, but really it's seven days a week.” Health Angioletti has no plans to retire and intends to keep working. “It gives me a reason to get up, to shower, to dress, to (put on) makeup, to try to look presentable, and to enjoy my business. It's all pleasure,” she says. Angioletti founded Curiosity Jewelers in Cresskill, New Jersey, in 1964. But she’s worked one job or another since she was a teenager. Born in 1924, she lived through the Great Depression and later endured becoming a widow at a young age with three children to support. “I think my secret is that I love life. I'm happy. I try not to worry about tomorrow,” Angioletti says. She’s never had heart disease or cancer, feels well at 101 and takes only two medications. Here are her simple tips for a long life: Move your body Exercise has always been an important part of Angioletti’s routine. Starting in her 40s, she used to walk 3 miles in the morning, climb 20 flights of stairs and do sit-ups every day to stay in shape. She loved playing golf in New Jersey, New York, Florida and Mexico. The centenarian still exercises for 30 minutes every morning, doing leg raises, bending at her waist and using 2-pound weights to work her arms. She also still likes to dance. “Of course, I can't dance like I used to, but one or two dances a night,” Angioletti says about her Saturday night outings with friends. “We have a wonderful time.” “She's always just been a very active person,” her granddaughter adds. Have a purpose in life For Angioletti, it’s her business. She had many other jobs before starting the jewelry store, including working as a waitress, a short-order cook and a bookkeeper. She made surgical instruments during World War II. The centenarian says she’d die if she retired. “People should have a reason to get up,” Angioletti says. “I don't have anything to do if I were at home. So that's not good.” Running the store gives Angioletti a sense of purpose and the social aspect of talking with people who come in, her granddaughter notes. “Her whole life has been to work hard and be the best in everything she has done,” Rubach says. Other centenarians, including a 102-year-old doctor, also plan to never retire to keep the brain and body active. Eat nutritious food Her breakfast routine includes eating an egg every day. “I love eggs,” Angioletti says. One egg has big nutrition, including protein, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and antioxidants, says registered dietitian Natalie Rizzo, nutrition editor for TODAY. Angioletti’s morning meal also includes oatmeal — a cardiologist’s favorite breakfast — orange juice, a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a cup of black coffee. For lunch, she eats chicken, Chinese food, or Mediterranean food, “but not too much,” she says. Angioletti also likes fish — including sardines with skin and bones, which are a rich source of calcium — turkey, pastrami, and salami sandwiches with provolone cheese. Her favorite vegetables include tomatoes, corn, spinach, broccoli rabe and beets. She drinks beer once a week and eats “very little at night.” Angioletti doesn’t like chocolate and rarely eats sweets other than vanilla fudge. “When I get candy, I give it away. It's not my thing,” she says. “I like savory food.” She also doesn’t eat pretzels or chips — those kinds of snacks were never eaten in her or her parents’ home. As a child, she remembers family meals always starting with spaghetti, followed by a main course of chicken, fish or steak and vegetables, then a salad, and fruit and nuts to finish. Her mother lived to be 94, and her father lived to 87. Be positive Angioletti has survived many hard times, including economic hardship during the Great Depression and becoming a young widow when her husband died of cancer at 52. She stayed resilient through it all. “I had a wonderful young childhood and a wonderful life altogether because I've been happy with everything,” she says. Angioletti enjoys her work, focuses on her friends and says she’s lucky to be healthy. The centenarian keeps a clear mind, her granddaughter adds. “She’s always said to me that worrying about anything is not good for you. So not to worry about anything and just kind of letting anything go,” Rubach notes. “It takes a lot of work to do that, to have this outlook of not letting worries and stress get to you, but she really does live her life that way — worry-free and stress-free.” This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
