UK HealthCare's Centenarian: Blessed in Years, Young at Heart

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 24, 2016) – When Eloise Terry visits Dr. Archana Kudrimoti at the University of Kentucky's Family and Community Medicine Clinic, she doesn't simply walk in the door; it's more like a grand entrance onto a stage, her bright eyes dancing with delight, as she fluidly strolls with her walker, waving to staff and exchanging pleasantries with people around her. She is neatly dressed, with her signature matching bow perched atop a head of white hair. 

Terry's storied life, all 100 years of it, has for the most part, been played out on a stage, with herself cast in the leading role as celebrated professional dancer, military wife, world traveler, entertainer, artist, seamstress, entrepreneur, mentor and humanitarian.

Terry has been under the care of Dr. Archana Kudrimoti since moving to Lexington from Louisville in 2010 to be close to family. Although Kudrimoti has several patients in their 90s, Terry is her only 100-year-old. She attributes Terry's longevity to her personality and lifestyle.

"She is a very spunky lady with a great sense of humor. I would say her personality and outlook on life have a lot to do with her health and longevity. Also, she has been physically active all her life and she pays a great deal of attention to what she eats, even now," Kudrimoti says.

On a recent winter afternoon, Terry and her beloved cat, Cleopatra, sit in her modest, but tastefully decorated apartment in an assisted living home in Lexington.

Old photos on a desk show a very handsome young couple, perfectly posed in a waltz-like position in full makeup and costume. There is a large walk-in closet filled with her clothes and lavish dance costumes, hand sewn by herself and her mother a lifetime ago. Then, of course, there is her extensive hair bow collection; a bow handmade by Terry in colors to match every outfit and worn every day.

There are two exquisite oil paintings of colorful Italian street scenes that she painted from her time in Italy hanging on the wall.

When asked about her artistic talent, she shrugs off the mention of talent and says that when people look at something, they see it but they don't really see it. "To paint, you have to see it."

Terry reflects back on her 100-years of life, recalling many details, although she sometimes struggles to remember a name or a place.

"My mother called me Doll because I was so tiny," Terry said. "I had a sister, Kathleen, who was four years older than me and she liked to stay indoors and read, but I wanted to be outside running, climbing fences, and playing on a tire swing that my father made for me. I was very athletic in a way."

Terry was born on Oct. 8, 1915 in Henshaw, Kentucky. When Terry was a child, her family moved to Louisville for her father's job. They lived near what was then Turner's Dance Studio. At 8-years-of-age, she began taking lessons because 'dancing was a lot like gymnastics' to her.

Dancing put Terry on a path that would eventually lead to meeting her future husband, and life as a professional dancer that took her across the country and much of the world.

"My mother and some of my teachers discouraged me from dancing because it wasn't considered ladylike or proper, and they always said I was too small to be any good at it," Terry said.

Despite the discouragement, she had a French teacher in middle school who did encourage her to follow her passion for dancing.  In perfect French form, Terry recalls her teacher saying:

"Doll, la petit mas puissant (small but powerful), you must dance!"

At the tender age of 14, Eloise met George Terry at Turner's where he also took lessons. He wanted Eloise to be his partner because he wanted someone small and easy to lift while doing difficult dance moves. Although George would later make a career of the military, working counter intelligence for the Army during WWII, he was as passionate about dancing as his future bride.

The young couple formed the dance team 'Eloise and George' and performed in dance clubs and hotels for about 15 years throughout the United States as well as Canada and Cuba. When George was drafted during WWII, Eloise worked at a local department store and was later hired as a receptionist at WHAS when television became popular. She would soon become a regular on Cactus and Randy's 'T-Bar-V', a children's birthday show where Terry dressed up in a black widow spider costume and entertained the young audience.

After the war ended, George returned home from active duty and he and Eloise married in 1948. They were stationed in Germany, Italy, and traveled throughout most of Europe, and still they danced.

"Dancing is not just walking along to music, it's very acrobatic. We knew 19 different dances like the waltz, tango, rumba, and the most acrobatic dance of all, the adagio," she said.

When the army moved them back to the states, they lived in Maryland and North Carolina where Eloise taught painting and ceramics to the Army wives.

The couple moved back to Louisville when George retired in 1964. George died in 1965 when Eloise was just around 50.

Although the era of 'Eloise and George' came to a close, Eloise began a new chapter in her life with new adventures, but never fully giving up dance. In 1979, she created the Young Hearts Theater, a performance group for those over the age of 60. Nearly 40 years later, "Young Hearts" is still going strong.

Eloise continued to travel the world visiting places like Singapore, Peru, the Amazon, Hawaii, the Caribbean and most of the United States. She served as president of a Louisville Professional Women's Club. She has received awards for public service and volunteerism from the American Red Cross for over 30-years of volunteer work and other awards from various organizations for community involvement.

Eloise Terry's influence on the arts is recognized every year when an arts scholarship, endowed in her name, is given to students at Sacred Heart High School in Louisville.

Eloise never seems to ponder too long on her age and says she feels more like she's in her 70s instead of 100-years-old. When asked what she attributes to her longevity, she responds:

"Having a lot of confidence in my talents, knowing my limitations, and having a plan B."

Kudrimoti says that gerontologists and researchers have tried to answer the question of why some people live well into their 80s and beyond and some people don't. From a global standpoint, she says that people are living longer as a nation because there is greater access to clean air, better food sources, and better health care.  From a personal standpoint, 25-30 percent of longevity can be attributed to genetics.

"We have discovered that 80 to 90 percent of longevity is due to environmental factors, like how healthfully someone eats, if they smoke, their personality, if they have an optimistic outlook. Do they have a close group of family and friends? Do they find meaning in their life?" she said.

"We are seeing more people live well into their 90s. People 85-years-of-age and above are the fastest growing sect of the population. The majority of these people are women and we don't yet know why."

According to 2010 census data, there are about 55,000 or more centenarians in the nation and about 600 of those live in Kentucky.

"Older adults exhibit a variety or heterogeneity with respect to disease burden, function, beliefs, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, families and personal preferences. When providing care for older individuals, one must consider all that before making decisions about their health," Kudrimoti said.

"Our ultimate goal is not only to improve overall health and positively impact their longevity, but also to keep them independent as long as possible and improve quality of their life at all times."

The last time Eloise Terry danced, she was 91-years-old. She danced to the song 'Sweet Little Alice Blue Gown,' as part of a performance at Young Hearts Theater. The costume she wore still hangs in her closet today and not surprisingly, still fits.

When Eloise speaks about her life, and dancing in particular, the spark in her eyes ignites and the 'joie de vivre' in her voice never waivers.

"Dancing is feeling this thing and sharing it with people."

Eloise Terry has had, and is still having, quite a life.

Media Contact: Ann Blackford at 859-323-6442 or ann.blackford@uky.edu