Oldest man in US who walked every day and avoided drinking from water bottles dies at 110
The oldest man in America lived a very healthy lifestyle before he passed away at 110 years old. He walked daily, ate mostly a vegetarian diet, and avoided using plastic water bottles. Now, his brain is set to be studied by scientists.
In an exclusive report by People magazine, Morrie Markoff's 83-year-old daughter, Judith Markoff Hansen said that at the time of her father's death on June 3, he never suffered from illnesses like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, which are associated with aging.
Remembering his late father’s life, Judith shared that Morrie, along with his wife, Betty, who died at the age of 103, followed a healthy lifestyle, saying that they “ate largely vegetarian meals, rarely drank alcohol, stayed active.” She added that her parents also walked daily for three miles late into their 90s.
The late couple also rejected the “whole fad of bottled water,” and opted to drink from the tap, saying that Morrie “trusted science” and the system of Los Angeles county’s water supply.
Morrie, who worked as a salesman and a machinist, was an “incredibly curious person.”
“He was very interested in science. He at one time subscribed to Scientific American and this is a man with an eighth-grade education,” Judith said.
Morrie's "Ballerina," his first metal sculpture made in the 1960s. | Photo from Morrie Markoff's blog site
Inspired by Morrie's daughter, Judith who was playing a guitar. | Photo from Morrie Markoff's blog site
This was inspired by Morrie's "best customer" when he was a shoe shine boy at age 10. | Photo from Morrie Markoff's blog site
Morrie's "Ballerina," his first metal sculpture made in the 1960s. | Photo from Morrie Markoff's blog site
Inspired by Morrie's daughter, Judith who was playing a guitar. | Photo from Morrie Markoff's blog site
This was inspired by Morrie's "best customer" when he was a shoe shine boy at age 10. | Photo from Morrie Markoff's blog site
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Morrie was also an artist, specifically making metal sculptures.
Judith explained, “The story goes that he was fixing a toilet, he took a piece of the toilet, it looked like a ballerina's dress on her skirt. And he made that into a sculpture.”
He also ran a personal blog site, where he shared more about his musings and life happenings, including his birthdays and book signing event for his memoir, Keep Breathing which he published when he was aged 103. He was tagged by an L.A Times columnist as the “oldest living blogger” in 2020.
Judith added that after her father’s death on June 3, they wondered about what to do with his “fabulous brain.” She eventually found the Brain Donor Project, an organization that links donated brains to NeuroBioBank—a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—that will be used for public health research.
Tish Hevel, CEO of the Brain Donor Project told People that Morrie’s brain was believed to be “the oldest cognitively healthy brain that's ever been donated.”
“He was just an incredibly creative person,” Judith described her father. “Hopefully the brain will find a large area of creativity. I don't know what it's going to find. It's going to be interesting,” she added.