At 108, Los Angeles woman is alive and watching kickboxing
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Her doctor attributes her longevity to "incredible genes."
A karate studio may seem like an odd place for a woman to celebrate her birthday, but for Magdalena Lee Skiff it was the perfect setting to watch her great-great-grandson practice martial arts and celebrate the day.
And who’s going to argue with a woman who turned 108 over where she can watch karate chops along with cake-cutting?
Skiff feels quite at home at the karate studio where she likes to go at least twice a week to watch David practice.
With the passing of Gertrude Baines, 115, of Los Angeles, who was thought to be the oldest living person in the world at the time, Skiff has now attained the title of oldest living person in L.A.
The current longevity champ is thought to be a 114-year-old woman residing in Japan.
Dr. Robert Goodman in Tarzana, Skiff‘s physican for the last 20 years, said his active patient like to credit him with her longevity, an attribution he strongly disclaims.
"She always attributes her longevity to me, but that's nonsense. The woman has incredible genes. Her blood pressure's a little high, and she's taken a fall or two, but no heart attacks or anything serious,” Goodman told the Daily News.
Skiff grew up on a farm in North Dakota where she milked cows and fed chickens before walking a mile to a one-room school. One thought is that possibly people who grew up in rural America at the turn of the century were just tougher. "We grew all our own vegetables, raised chickens, and chopped wood for cooking and to keep the house warm in the winter," Skiff said. "Three times a year we took a horse and buggy to town to sell things we harvested, and to buy flour, sugar and material for making our own clothes." Her daughter, Doreen Moreno, said, "Mom eats well-balanced meals and doesn't overeat. A little shot of whiskey before dinner keeps her spirits up." After Skiff’s husband of 65 years, Albert, died in 1991, she moved to Los Angeles with her daughter.
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