At Age 115, She Was Content to Look Out Her Window Iris Westman of North Dakota, who died Jan. 3, had more to say about Warren G. Harding than about Donald Trump Iris Westman in 2016. PHOTO: JAMES R. HAGERTY/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL By James R. Hagerty Jan. 27, 2021 10:00 am ET PRINT TEXT 50 Listen to this article 5 minutes 00:00 / 04:30 1x
In an age when people are bombarded almost constantly with disturbing news and commentary, Iris Westman had no access to social media and rarely watched television.
That may be one reason she lived with remarkable serenity to the age of 115.
Ms. Westman died of natural causes, unrelated to Covid-19, on Jan. 3 at a nursing home in Northwood, N.D. She was listed by the Gerontology Research Group as the second-oldest living American, behind Hester Ford of North Carolina, who is believed to be either 115 or 116.
In an interview five years ago, Ms. Westman was asked for her impression of Donald Trump, then campaigning for president. “I’ve heard of him,” she said. “Not enough to express an opinion.”
She had more to say about Warren G. Harding, who served as president from 1921 until his death in 1923. Mr. Harding may not have been a great president, she said, but she remembered having a soft spot for him. “He was awfully good looking,” she said.
She could no longer see well enough to read easily but enjoyed listening to audio books. History and travel were preferred themes.
Her nursing home offered daily gatherings for cards, bingo or other amusements. Though she sometimes took part in those activities, she said, “I don’t need to have lots of things going on. I can be quite content sitting here and looking out the window and not seeing anything.” Outside, the countryside was flat and drifted with snow.
During the interview, she sat upright and poised in a plush easy chair. Her hair was stylishly waved. She wore a knit top with a geometrical pattern over wine-colored slacks. Near her chair was a folder containing a letter the White House sent her in 2015 to congratulate her on her 110th birthday.
She shrugged off questions about her longevity. “You just sit back and it happens,” she said. “The Lord takes care of it, and He knows what He’s doing, so we should just sit back and let Him do it.”
Ms. Westman “never wanted to be known for being old,” said Katie Pinke, whose great grandfather was one of Ms. Westman’s brothers. “That wasn’t something that she found particularly newsworthy.”
Born on Aug. 28, 1905, she grew up on a farm near Aneta, N.D., with her parents and three brothers. Her parents, of Norwegian descent, encouraged their children to read at an early age. When she got to first grade she was shocked to find some of her fellow students hadn’t begun reading. “I thought, For pity’s sakes,” she recalled.
The family had a Ford car but needed horse-drawn sleds to get around in the winter because roads were often impassable. She remembered the pleasing scent of candles burning on the Christmas tree during a brief home service. One of her brothers stood by with a pail of water in case of fire. Presents were few: “We’d get one fun gift, like a toy, and otherwise we’d get something new to wear.”
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 1928, she taught English at several schools in North Dakota and Minnesota. Later she studied library science and became the librarian at an elementary school, until retiring in 1972. She preferred working with younger children. “Teenagers were getting to be a little difficult to deal with, and I didn’t want to fight them, so I stayed with the elementary school,” she said. “Which means I’m a coward.”
She never married. Did she come close? “Well, a couple of times, but I think it was very well that I didn’t.”
She fondly remembered a kitten once given to her by a neighbor. It was so scruffy and unsightly at first sight that she mockingly named it Aphrodite, after the Greek goddess, only to realize later it was a male cat. “He was a very smart cat,” she said.
Other favorite memories included travels to the East Coast, a cruise through the Great Lakes, and tours of Scandinavia and Western Europe.
As for politics, she was willing to assume almost any crisis could be survived. When Franklin Roosevelt died, she said, “I thought, ‘Oh, what’s going to happen to the country?’ I figured what did Truman know? But he stepped up and was very good.”
正筹备给一位百岁老人过生日，他是老大，下面有一个弟弟三个妹妹，有的在大陆，有的在台湾，有的在美国，最小的89岁，都健在。而这家人长寿基因来自母亲，本来身体极好，因意外去世。娘家人中过百仍健在的至少三人。
另一家人：某人原来是国民党少壮派知识型高官，跑到台湾40多岁暴病身亡。他弟弟留在大陆，是某知名餐厅经理，40多岁暴病身亡。他儿子在沙特当工程师50出头暴病身亡。他女儿在美国做大学教授52岁死于癌症。
若问基因和环境哪个对疾病影响更大，回答不是那么简单。其实对不同的群体影响不一样。dudaan, Jck66 说的是不同的群体: 普通人群和携带相关致病遗传基因人群。
对普通人群（包括所有的人）来说，"环境"对疾病影响更大。
对携带相关致病遗传基因人群，可能"基因"的影响更大，这个“可能”与具体病和携带基因有关。
为什么这么说？每个人体细胞胞中有约24,000 个基因，而大部份基因都是成对的，其中一个来自母亲，另一个来自父亲。疾病的发生与基因突变有关。不是所有的基因突变都与已知的疾病有关。突变能造成疾病的基因称为疾病相关基因。在普通人群，基因突变发生的概率比较低，这样大部分人没有携带突变基因，生病的比率也比较低，可以认为基因的作用被稀释了。而在携带相关致病遗传基因人群, 因为在这个群体里大部分人携带基因突变(遗传自父亲或母亲)，生病的比率大幅度升高，这样基因的作用被放大了。
以乳腺癌和卵巢癌相关的两个基因（BRCA1 和 BRCA2）为例来说。
"携带BRCA1突变基因的乳腺癌妇女自确诊时起5年内对侧乳房患癌的风险为25%，至70岁时为64%。患卵巢癌的寿命风险，在普通人群为1.4%，有1个一级亲属(母亲、姐妹、女儿)罹患者为7%，后者获得遗传性卵巢癌综合征的几率为3%有综合征者，卵巢癌的寿命风险至少为40%。遗传性乳腺癌-卵巢癌综合征者患乳腺癌和(或)卵巢癌的发生率增加，有一级亲属患卵巢癌几率为50%。"
"遗传性乳腺癌-卵巢癌综合征的重要特征是发病年龄早，该综合征表现为：在有乳腺癌倾向的家族中乳腺癌患者或其1、2级血亲中有两个或两个以上的卵巢癌患者并有以下临床特点：家族中乳腺癌多呈早发表现，一般发病年龄＜50岁；家族中卵巢癌患者发病年龄也较早，一般为49.6～55.3岁，平均52.4岁(散发性卵巢癌的发病年龄平均为59岁)."
At Age 115, She Was Content to Look Out Her Window Iris Westman of North Dakota, who died Jan. 3, had more to say about Warren G. Harding than about Donald Trump
In an age when people are bombarded almost constantly with disturbing news and commentary, Iris Westman had no access to social media and rarely watched television.
That may be one reason she lived with remarkable serenity to the age of 115.
Ms. Westman died of natural causes, unrelated to Covid-19, on Jan. 3 at a nursing home in Northwood, N.D. She was listed by the Gerontology Research Group as the second-oldest living American, behind Hester Ford of North Carolina, who is believed to be either 115 or 116.
In an interview five years ago, Ms. Westman was asked for her impression of Donald Trump, then campaigning for president. “I’ve heard of him,” she said. “Not enough to express an opinion.”
She had more to say about Warren G. Harding, who served as president from 1921 until his death in 1923. Mr. Harding may not have been a great president, she said, but she remembered having a soft spot for him. “He was awfully good looking,” she said.
She could no longer see well enough to read easily but enjoyed listening to audio books. History and travel were preferred themes.
Her nursing home offered daily gatherings for cards, bingo or other amusements. Though she sometimes took part in those activities, she said, “I don’t need to have lots of things going on. I can be quite content sitting here and looking out the window and not seeing anything.” Outside, the countryside was flat and drifted with snow.
During the interview, she sat upright and poised in a plush easy chair. Her hair was stylishly waved. She wore a knit top with a geometrical pattern over wine-colored slacks. Near her chair was a folder containing a letter the White House sent her in 2015 to congratulate her on her 110th birthday.
She shrugged off questions about her longevity. “You just sit back and it happens,” she said. “The Lord takes care of it, and He knows what He’s doing, so we should just sit back and let Him do it.”
Ms. Westman “never wanted to be known for being old,” said Katie Pinke, whose great grandfather was one of Ms. Westman’s brothers. “That wasn’t something that she found particularly newsworthy.”
Born on Aug. 28, 1905, she grew up on a farm near Aneta, N.D., with her parents and three brothers. Her parents, of Norwegian descent, encouraged their children to read at an early age. When she got to first grade she was shocked to find some of her fellow students hadn’t begun reading. “I thought, For pity’s sakes,” she recalled.
The family had a Ford car but needed horse-drawn sleds to get around in the winter because roads were often impassable. She remembered the pleasing scent of candles burning on the Christmas tree during a brief home service. One of her brothers stood by with a pail of water in case of fire. Presents were few: “We’d get one fun gift, like a toy, and otherwise we’d get something new to wear.”
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She never married. Did she come close? “Well, a couple of times, but I think it was very well that I didn’t.”
She fondly remembered a kitten once given to her by a neighbor. It was so scruffy and unsightly at first sight that she mockingly named it Aphrodite, after the Greek goddess, only to realize later it was a male cat. “He was a very smart cat,” she said.
Other favorite memories included travels to the East Coast, a cruise through the Great Lakes, and tours of Scandinavia and Western Europe.
As for politics, she was willing to assume almost any crisis could be survived. When Franklin Roosevelt died, she said, “I thought, ‘Oh, what’s going to happen to the country?’ I figured what did Truman know? But he stepped up and was very good.”
Write to James R. Hagerty at [email protected]
https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-age-115-she-was-content-to-look-out-her-window-11611759600?
前两年澳洲有个老爷爷99岁，没有大病，还能走路，完全没有失智，但生活需要照顾，选择去瑞士安乐，因为小病不断，整天进出医院，他感觉不到在享受生活.....
除了基因和环境因素，还有母亲怀孕婴儿出生时健康（比如早产）对寿命是否也有影响？
一家人人长寿，一家人人短命。
那位美国教授是最注意健康的，生活习惯极好，好善乐施，唉。
有些家庭兄弟姐妹里，有的长寿，有的癌症英年早逝，这类情形也不少。这怎么说呢。。
还有就是人们常说的“某人生活很健康”这如何定义和衡量？不同人认知差很大（长期酗酒，抽烟，有意“作”的除外）
不看书了！