Jean Bailey, the 102-year-old leading fitness classes 4 days a week

Some individuals are simply a source of inspiration for the rest of us. One of them is Jean Bailey, a 102-year-old woman who holds fitness classes four days a week- and has shown no sign of quitting. The woman lives at the Elk Ridge Village Senior Living in Omaha and is responsible for the gradually increasing bar of fitness amongst the elderly in that location. This lady has been teaching fitness classes to the other residents of the location for the last three years without any leave of absence. The resident of this Senior Living- who has been here for the last 14 years- recently mentioned, “When I get old, I’ll quit.” She truly encapsulates what it means when people say that ‘Age is just a state of mind’, and for her, she still feels young. 

102-Year-Old Woman Teaches Fitness Exercises At Senior Living Facility

Some of the women in the fitness classes suffer from joint arthritis that restricts their movements. However, they can still stretch themselves comfortably and receive benefits from them- something Bailey herself does, as she often uses a walker. But that is definitely not a sign of weakness, for Bailey considers herself to be a tough coach. “They tease me and said I’m mean, because when we do exercises, I want them to do it right and use your muscles. The girls seem to realize what I’m going to do for them. It’s for me, too.” Previously, there was a single male individual who joined in, but he sadly passed away a couple of years ago. Now, her fitness classes have nothing but women.

Jean Bailey had started her fitness classes during the onset of the pandemic- which the senior residents needed, for they would always be cooped up inside their living quarters. While age was definitely not on her side- for even as a 99-year-old woman, she was a senior among the residents. She decided that she needed to stay active, and she had always been quite adept at motivating people to do things; she went ahead and invited her neighbors to start setting their chairs in the hallways for some easy, simple, but socially distanced fitness classes. Bailey mentioned, “I really feel that if you don’t keep your mind and body busy, then why are you here?” Needless to say, the residents enjoyed the classes, so Bailey never stopped them. 

Bailey Maintains Regular Timing For Her Fitness Classes

The fitness classes begin at 9.45 am, allowing the participants to have breakfast and get dressed properly. Bailey provides the rest of the participants with 30-minute classes each on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and the classes begin with an opening prayer. For those who are curious, the group usually goes through 20 different kinds of stretches for both the lower and upper body.

Some of these include pointing and flexing feet, neck rolls, and bending over to reach the ground. Bailey explained, “You move every part of your body, absolutely, from your hands to your toes. We’ve gotten pretty close up there on our floor. One of us would do something for somebody. We really keep track of each other.” One of the seniors residing here, Phyllis Black, 87, states that she loves the fitness exercises that Jean puts them through. In fact, she feels quite stiff and sore when she skips out on them. When Black had settled at this Senior Living around three and a half years ago, Bailey had greeted her with a few cookies, and a couple of tomatoes from her family’s garden. It has also been mentioned that Jean would routinely treat her attendees with baked goods if they had a birthday. 

Age Is Just A Number- Jean Bailey Has Proved That With Her Fitness Classes

Speaking about Bailey, Black said, “She’s a very nice neighbor, and she’s a good friend also. She’s very talented.” The resilience and longevity that Jean Bailey has shown are not just a series of fitness exercises- rather, it comes from a life filled with hardships. She was born in 1921 in Wyoming and spent her entire childhood during the Great Depression. She was one of her parents’ five children, and her mother gave her away to another family when she was just three years old. Her new family first lived in Iowa, then Nebraska, where Bailey spent all her life.

Bailey had also been a model for J.C. Penney when she was a teenager. She married in 1942, but her husband, Loren Bailey, died in 1989. The couple had three children- daughters Pennyrae and Patty, and a son, Bruce. Their daughter Patty died when she was 55-years-old, from cancer. Jean has five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. When Jean’s children were pretty young, she was a homemaker. But when they grew up, she became a florist- something she has enjoyed ever since. While living at the Senior Facility, she often purchases artificial flowers and then makes bouquets for the clubhouse or someone’s birthday. Interestingly, she has also been the dealer of several Blackjack games. 

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Jean Bailey Is Also The Life At Elk Ridge- The ‘Queen Bee’

One of the lifestyle directors at Elk Ridge, Laura Stuart, considers Jean Bailey to be the Queen Bee. She said, “She brings her expertise in the floral arrangements and is always doing beautiful arrangements. She brings that to us, and it’s just a godsend that she’s still here with us to even do such an intricate type of floral arrangement.” At this Senior Living facility, the authorities encourage residents to be a part of several fitness activities like tai chi, walking, and even the gym. But the ladies prefer the fitness exercises that Jean prescribes simply due to her bubbly personality, and the benefits of her stretches to those with mobility challenges. 

Sean Tran, the director of operations at this place, recently mentioned, “More than anything, her general outlook on life… is just remarkable. She’s the nicest, most thoughtful, caring person that I probably ever met. Nothing is going to stop her. She’s going to keep going, no matter what. When they look at her, they think, ‘If she can do this at 102, I can do this at my age, whatever it is.’”

Bailey was also a volunteer for a hospital for three decades in the department of imaging- but she has no idea what her formula for longevity is. Nevertheless, she believes consuming a healthy diet and staying fit probably had a significant role to play in it. Bailey joked, “I really don’t know. I guess it’s the fact that God isn’t ready for me. I have to keep busy […]don’t believe in just sitting and watching TV. I’m pretty good at naps at this point.”

She Feels Blessed For The Life She Has Led

Jean Bailey might be doing her fitness exercises four days a week, but a good, clean diet is also necessary for her. She eats a lot of fruits and vegetables, and has already consumed enough meat in her life that, “I don’t mind if I don’t have a lot of meat.” She is also quite a fan of drinking alcohol, but in sensible quantities- like a small glass of wine. But what she truly enjoys eating is sweets. “I love it. I don’t always eat all my dinner, but I always eat all my dessert. My favorite is anything chocolate.”

Jean also loves reading mystery novels. “It makes you think. It’s entirely different from life in the real world. I don’t sit and finish a book in a day like I used to so it takes a little longer, but it’s OK.” She absolutely enjoys writing letters to her family- at a time when most of the communication takes place over social media. Therefore, while she believes it is “old-fashioned, I still write letters to my kids.” 

Above all, she considers herself blessed for the life she has been granted and the life she has led to date. The fitness exercise coach states, “I think mainly I’m an optimist. You can get down like anybody else… and nobody keeps optimism 24/7, but I just I guess I just try to think positive.”

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