'I never smoked, drank or swore': Fox Valley man turns 100

“I never smoked, drank or swore,” said longtime Elgin resident Roland Josephson, who recently turned 100 years old.

“That's true,” said his daughter, Rita Yaeger, who was standing nearby when this new centenarian made this claim at his 100th birthday party.

“My aunt, who was his younger sister and lived to be 96 years old, told us the same thing about him,” Yaeger said.

While Josephson doesn't credit his lifestyle with his longevity, he admits it didn't hurt either.

Born when the booming Elgin National Watch Company dominated the city's economy, Josephson said it was a great time to grow up. Elgin, which was about one-fourth the size it is today, was then a regional shopping center for the area.

“There were so many stores in the downtown. I remember getting a frosty mug root beer for a nickel at one,” Josephson. said. “Another favorite of mine was a store that sold caramel corn.

“There were very few cars when I was young. Ice and milk deliveries were made to our homes by horse-drawn wagons.”

Josephson met his wife, Doris, through his sister. Both were in a nursing program operated by Sherman Hospital, now Advocate Sherman.

About 15 months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Josephson and a friend enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

“My wife waited for me to come home and we were married after the war,” he said.

The couple eventually had three children, Trudy, Rita, and Becky.

“When my children were younger, we'd go to Wisconsin each summer — not to fish, but to golf. I shot four hole-in-ones in my life.

“I wasn't really any better than the people I was playing, just luckier,” he smiled. “My wife and I always followed the Elgin High School football and basketball teams, too.”

After the war, Josephson became a partner in one of the more than 70 neighborhood “mom and pop” grocery stores in the city at the time. He later opened one of his own.

“We knew everybody, and our customers were like a family. Almost anyone needing credit got it. If there was a death in the family, I'd send them a ham,” he said.

The car and other changes brought an end to the neighborhood stores and the number dwindled.

“It wasn't really a sad time, just a natural change,” said Josephson, who went on to get a job with the U.S. Postal Service.

Josephson retired in 1982 and moved to California, where his oldest daughter resided. Doris passed away in 1992.

In more recent years, he has returned to Illinois. He first lived at Heritage Woods in South Elgin, and more recently moved to Presence Pine View Care Center in St. Charles.

Asked if he had any final words or advice about turning 100 years old, Josephson simply smiled and looked upward.

“God has surely been looking out for me,” he said.