Last month I flew down to Virginia to meet my brother and my parents and to attend a memorial service for my uncle, my father's brother. My brother and parents had flown to Virginia from California. My uncle was 81 when he died, and the service was held at the assisted care center where he had moved a number of years ago. He was vibrant and had all his faculties until last year, when a series of small strokes took his mind and then his body.
Last week my father's sister died. Her service was this past weekend. She was 83 and had been in a home for many years, during which time she didn't recognize her son or her grandchildren or her siblings.
Yet my father's oldest sister is north of 85 and is sharp as a tack, able to get around on her own, remembers everything, and is self-sufficient, living by herself in the house in which she raised her kids. Last week I realized that she's the oldest person I know, and I'm so glad she's physically and mentally healthy, though I regret I don't see her as much as I'd like.
How old is the oldest person you know (not the oldest person you've met, but the oldest you know), and how often do you see them?