It doesn’t take much time with Julia Hawkins to realize the 101-year-old is full of energy.
Along the walk up to her house, greenery of all sorts blooms everywhere, from trees and bushes to countless potted plants and bonsais.
Inside, the walls—which she and her late husband built themselves—come alive with history. Handmade dolls, old books and trinkets each hold a story that Hawkins undoubtedly remembers to this day and will gladly tell you, should you have time to listen.
Even her style bursts with energy. Her signature look is an azalea tucked into her hair.
She was familiar with the tradition of Hawaiian dancers wearing the flower in their hair. “I thought, ‘Why should they have all the fun?’”
That quote might sum it up best. Hawkins makes sure to live life to the fullest every moment—and that includes her athletic abilities.
This past summer, Hawkins set the world record for the 100-meter-dash in her age group with a time of 40.12 seconds. Born in 1916, she was the only competitor in her age group and became the oldest female athlete to compete in the USA Track and Field Outdoors Masters Championships—making the feat that much more impressive.
It was yet another gold medal to add to the countless awards she’s earned in her life, originally starting as a cyclist before her children signed her up for a 50-yard-dash without telling her.
“I had a pretty good time, and I fell in love with it,” Hawkins says of her first race. “I thought it was the funnest thing.”
Hawkins is active on a daily basis. If she doesn’t run, she goes for a long walk. If she doesn’t walk, she might ride her bike for a bit. At the very least, she’s out in the yard, tending to her garden—doing it all with her flower in her hair.
So what’s the key to still going strong for more than a century? Hawkins credits her doctors and good health habits growing up.
But one thing she made evident is that emotional health is equally as important as physical health as you go through life.
“One of the things I tell people about living old is that it’s important to marry a good man. Not just one you love, but one you like and admire. He needs to be your best friend as well as your lover. That’s what mine was for me.
All those letters we wrote all that time we were separated, when we did get married, we were ready. One time he didn’t think he wanted children, but I didn’t worry about that because I knew he’d change. And he did. One of the last letters from Pearl Harbor and the war, he said he thought he wanted children and lots of them. We had the four, which is lots, I think.”
This article was originally published in the October 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.
