Healthy Aging: Celebrating 70 Years of Marriage

By Cristina Mestre and Tim Betler

Yetta and Seymour Farber know a little something about marriage. After all, they just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.

The couple, ages 92 and 93, are residents at UPMC’s Lighthouse Pointe Village. Yetta and Seymour share how they met, give marriage advice and talk about life at UPMC’s independent living facility in the video above.

As for how to keep a marriage strong, Yetta noted that although they had their little spats, it is always important to make up.  If you ask Seymour, the best advice is to let your wife be the boss, and to both stay busy. 

According to Charles F. Reynolds III, M.D., UPMC Endowed Professor in Geriatric Psychiatry and Director of the Aging Institute of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh, staying active is one of the key components of healthy aging.

Other key components of healthy aging, from the National Institute on Aging, include:

• Keep a positive attitude toward life.  Do things that make you happy.  Seymour notes that volunteering with Meals on Wheels three times a week gives him something to do in the mornings, and he has met great people while volunteering!
• Eat a balanced diet.  Yetta notes that she made healthy soups for many years, and that they both watched what they ate.
• Exercise regularly.  Check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.
• Get regular health checkups.
• Don’t smoke.  It’s never too late to quit.
• Practice safety habits at home to prevent falls.  Always wears your seatbelt in a car.
• Stay in contact with family and friends.  Stay active through work, play, and community. Yetta shared that they have a great community of friends at Lighthouse Pointe, and enjoy playing poker and bridge.
• Avoid overexposure to the sun and the cold.
• If you drink alcohol, moderation is the key.  When you drink, let someone else drive.  Seymour says he has never been a drinker, and he credits that with being healthy at 93.
• Keep personal and financial records to simplify budgeting and investing.  Plan long-term housing and money needs.