Bailey, 102, lives in the facility’s independent living wing and has been teaching classes four times a week in the hallway on the second floor for about three years. She doesn’t want to slow down.
“I’ll stop when I get old,” said Bailey, who has lived in Elkridge for about 14 years.
Some of her regulars have arthritis that limits their movement, but they are comfortable doing stretching exercises and can benefit from them.
Still, she says she’s a tough coach.
“They made fun of me and said I was mean, because when we exercise, I want them to do it right and use your muscles,” she said.
But not too mean. People don’t keep showing up if they aren’t having fun.
“The girls seem to understand what I’m going to do for them,” she said. “It’s for me too.”
One man was present at the session, but he passed away. Now it’s all female.
She started her exercise classes in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic began and people were quarantined in their rooms.
She was 99 years old at the time, making her the oldest Elkridge resident. But she was not intimidated by the young age of her surrounding inhabitants.
She wants to stay active, she said. And since she’s always been so good at motivating people, she encouraged her neighbor to bring her chair out into her hallway for a quick, socially-distant exercise. rice field.
“Why are you here if you don’t keep your mind and body busy?” Bailey said.
The residents enjoyed it so much that they never stopped.
The session will begin at 9:45am, giving participants time to change and eat breakfast. Bailey offers her 30-minute classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, beginning with an opening prayer. This group performs about 20 different stretches for both the upper and lower body, including neck rolls, toe pointing and flexion, and bending down to touch the ground.
“You absolutely work every part of your body, from your hands to your toes,” said Bailey.
Friendships between women deepened through the class.
“We’ve been pretty close to the floor,” she said.
Phyllis Black, 87, lives next door to Jean and enjoys her exercise classes. When she skips them, she feels stiff, Black said.
When Black moved to Elk Ridge about three and a half years ago, Bailey greeted her with home-baked cookies and two tomatoes from the family garden.
Bailey often offers baked goods to attendees after sessions where someone has a birthday. She said that at this age, every birthday is important.
“She’s a very nice neighbor and a good friend,” Black said of Bailey. “She’s very talented.”
Bailey’s longevity and resilience come from living a difficult life. Born in Wyoming in 1921, he grew up during the Great Depression. One of her five children, Bailey’s mother gave her away to another family when she was three and was an only child with her father, who works on the railroad. I grew up as Her family lived in Iowa, then Nebraska, and Bailey has lived there ever since.
As a teenager, Bailey modeled for JC Penney. She married her in 1942, but her husband Lauren Bailey died in 1989. They had her three children. Son Bruce, daughter Penny Ray, and daughter Patty. She has her five grandchildren and her four great-grandchildren.
When her children were young, Bailey was a stay-at-home mom, but later became a florist. She still enjoys it as her hobby.
She buys artificial flowers and makes bouquets for the clubhouse and some residents. She also helps you cope during a game of blackjack.
Laura Stuart, Elk Ridge’s lifestyle director until recently, calls her the “Queen Bee.”
“She has an expertise in flower arranging and always makes beautiful arrangements,” Stuart said. “She brought it to us. It’s a godsend that she’s still with us and making such intricate types of flower arrangements.”
She said Bailey does everything with a heart.
With about 145 residents living independently and about 205 in care and memory care, Elkridge offers residents access to fitness activities such as walking clubs, tai chi, and exercising in the fitness room . But Bailey’s women seem to prefer her class because of her warm, fun personality and her kindness to stretch for people with disabilities, says Elk, who operates her Ridge. Sean, director of Her Tran says.
“Most of all, her general outlook on life…is just amazing,” he said of Bailey. “She’s probably the nicest, most thoughtful, caring person I’ve ever met. is.
“There is nothing stopping her,” Tran said. “She will keep going no matter what.”
Bailey inspires people because they look at her and think, ‘If she can do this at 102, I can do this at any age,’ he said.
Bailey, who has volunteered in the hospital’s imaging department for more than 30 years, isn’t sure what the formula is for living a long life. Eating her healthy diet and staying active probably plays a role, she said.
“I really don’t know,” said Bailey. “I think it’s the fact that God isn’t ready for me. I have to keep myself busy.
“I don’t believe in just sitting and watching TV,” Bailey said.
But age has its privileges.
“At this point, I’m pretty good at napping,” she said with a laugh.
