My Centenarian

This is Norman Vaughan
I knew of him before I met him and so it was a great privilege to work with Norm in our Stroke Fitness class at the club. Its a pool class for those who have had a stroke, trouble with balance or just need to move in a safe environment. Norman was 96 when we first started working together and he would be doing laps around those who were "tired". As he passed them he would say - "come on, I am 40 years older then you, get working". I would say "you better listen to the colonel". He was a regular, coming 3 days a week as he was getting in shape to climb Mt. Vaughan on his 100th birthday. It would take him about 45 minutes to go from the curb to the pool so usually he was exhausted, but after a few minutes of rest he would be ready and when he hit the water he would rarely rest. His nickname for me was "ten more" because that's what I always told the class. Oftentimes, it was just me and him in class so I got to ask questions and once I asked if he had any pets. He said that he gave all his Iditarod dogs to other mushers and when I asked if he had cats his reply was "oh, no we shoot them". It was a very immediate response so I can see him sitting on his back porch with a rifle.

One of his many stories was when he gave Pope John Paul a ride on his dogsled when the Pope was visiting Fairbanks (he was there to meet President Reagan). The Pope asked what the lead dog's name was and Norman did not want to lie to the Pope so he told him that the dog's name was Satan. The Pope replied that it was a good thing we have the reins.

He attributed his long life to have an adventerous spirit and a zest for life. I love his motto "dream big and dare to fail".

He left this world for his next adventure at the age of 100 and 4 days. He promised his mother that he would have his first taste of alcohol on his 100th birthday and so he celebrated with champagne.