107-Year-Old Crown Man Says ‘All the Time I Have Now Is a Bonus’

| January 20, 2020

CROWN, Pa. (EYT) – One hundred and seven candles were burning on Ed Brazier, Sr.’s birthday cake on January 5.

(PICTURED: Ed Brazier, photo courtesy of family friend Mike Shrum.)

This year Ed had a big celebration with most of his family – including his son and daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren – joining him to mark the milestone.

Ed remembered the day with a smile as he listed all of the people who came to help him celebrate.

After his wife died in 2000, Brazier lived alone in his home in Pittsburgh until he turned 104 and moved with his son in Crown.

When the weather is nice, Ed walks daily outside his son’s home in Crown. Since there are no sidewalks in rural Crown like he was used to in the city, he walks down the driveway to the paved road for his daily walk. He usually walks in the afternoon because it’s warmer then. All of the neighbors recognize him and stop to chat when they see him.

Ed proudly proclaimed that he rides a stationary exercise bike almost three miles every day and has stretch bands that he works out with to keep up his strength.

At 62, he retired from a job as a machinist in the steel mills.

Golfing became his passion after retirement. He played golf four or five days a week; however, he played his last game of golf when he was 102. He credits his love of the game for keeping him active.

“I bowled up until I was 104 – almost till I was 105,” Brazier told exploreClarion.com. “That’s when I moved to my son’s house.”

“I still feel good, I feel like I can do things, but I get short of breath. So, I have to take a rest in between.”

He laughed as he talked about the idea of not doing his daily activities and watching television instead.

“I’d rather get up and do things,” he said. “I can only watch TV for so long. Then, it gets boring. I’d rather get out and see people and walk the road.”

Ed admitted that it took him a little time to get used to country life after living in the city for so long.

One of the most significant adjustments for Ed was not having close neighbors.

He was also unfamiliar with the area, and it was hard for him to try to go anywhere. He gave up driving when he was 104, nearly 105, because he didn’t know where he wanted to drive to when he moved to the rural area.

“I bought my last car when I was 93,” he said. “I drove it for ten years. Up here, I didn’t know where to go. If I wanted to go to a town like Clarion, it was 20 miles away from Crown, and I didn’t know anything about the town. I figured I’d quit driving, and (I gave) my car away, and I was happy to do that.”

He said that he would have kept the car if he had had anywhere to drive and admitted that he misses getting out from time to time.

According to Ed, the state didn’t require him to take a driving test as he got older, and that kind of surprised him.

“The only thing I had to do is every so often they send you this form to fill out, you have to get a doctor to sign it, and that’s all I had to do, just answer a few questions.”

Longevity doesn’t run in Ed’s family. He said he had four brothers and four sisters who have all passed away. One sister and two brothers were younger than him.

Two of his sisters did live into their 90’s, but he is the only one to reach 100.

“I don’t know what the secret was. I’ve had a few operations, but everything turned out great.

“I figure all the time I have now is a bonus.”


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