Ruby McNally is a 100-year-old woman who lives by herself, still drives a car to get around town and enjoys cooking her own meals.
She’s already an extraordinary centenarian. But then, there’s also her passion for skydiving.
McNally likes to celebrate big birthdays in the sky, so when she recently turned 100, it was time to strap into a parachute again, her third time doing a tandem jump.
When asked if she has any anxiety about leaping out of a plane, she’s quick to answer.
“None whatsoever. It was so exciting. I love it,” McNally, who lives in Roseville, California, tells TODAY.com.
“You’re just floating around up there in the air and looking at the whole Earth below you. And coming down was no problem. I land with my feet out straight, and get up and walk away. … The whole thing is awesome.”
The skydiving adventure began when McNally turned 80 and one of her grandsons challenged her to do it. She discovered “she absolutely loved it,” says her daughter, Sharon McNally. She returned for her 90th birthday and then her 100th, when four of her grandchildren jumped with her.
“They loved it. To them, it’s like, how many people get to go skydiving with their 100-year-old grandmother?” Sharon McNally, 74, notes.
Ruby McNally was born on August 19, 1926, in Illinois. Her family moved to Vermont when she was a toddler, and that’s where she grew up.
She became a nurse, married twice and was widowed twice. She has seven children, who now range in age from 62 to 77. Longevity runs in her family — one of her sisters recently passed away at 101. Two other siblings lived into their 90s.
McNally lives independently in her home, and drives to stores and appointments.
“I just live life each day as it comes, enjoy each day and enjoy life,” the centenarian says.
Here are her tips for living a long life:
Eat a Nutritious Diet
McNally credits her healthy childhood in the Vermont countryside as a factor in her longevity. Her parents always had a garden full of fresh vegetables and wild berries.
Part of preparing a meal was picking corn, lettuce and tomatoes, her daughter notes.
“It was just a more of a clean-living type of a lifestyle. And yes, we had sweets, but it was all natural foods. There were no chemicals,” Ruby McNally says. “My advice would be to eat as natural as possible.”
Today, she buys “almost strictly organic” produce and meat. It’s the one type of food she always eats.
Breakfast usually includes eggs or whole grain cereal with a banana. Lunch might be a bit of cheese and an apple, if anything at all. Dinner depends on what organic options are available at the market that week.
She keeps fresh fruits and vegetables on hand to snack on, including cherry tomatoes and red grapes; eats produce in its raw form as often as she can and avoids sweets.
The centenarian loves coffee, starting her day with two cups in the morning — a habit that comes with many health benefits. She never drinks alcohol.
Everything in Moderation
Even though McNally now limits sweets, she grew up in a “lifestyle that had a lot of dessert.”
“When I grew up, I am literally telling you that I ate everything in sight, anything and everything, and I never gained a pound in my entire life,” she says.
“Every food, every dessert, whatever was there, I ate it. I ate nonstop growing up.”
These days, she finds she’s not hungry for dessert after eating a satisfying meal.
Move Your Body
Living in the country as a child meant McNally spent a lot of time outdoors climbing trees, swimming, hiking mountains and generally being active all day long. She was the captain of the girls’ basketball team in high school.
Adulthood was different because McNally was raising seven children and was too busy for a structured exercise routine.
But as she got older, she’s always done a lot of walking, a workout that boosts physical and mental health. McNally doesn’t use a cane or a walker, but has recently slowed down a bit because of an achy knee.
Be Adventurous
The centenarian’s first husband was in the military, so she lived “pretty much all up and down the East Coast” in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The family was transferred to California in 1958.
After her husband passed away at an early age, she remarried and moved again.
“Her whole spirit is just never give up, move forward, don’t be afraid of anything, and that’s kind of how she lived her life,” her daughter, Sharon McNally, says. “She absolutely loves the skydiving. No fear, whatsoever.”
Love Your Job
Ever since McNally was a child, her dream was to become a nurse. After high school, she went directly into nursing school and started working as a general nurse when she was 21.
She stepped away from the job while raising her kids, but returned to the profession after her children were older and became a labor and delivery nurse.
“That was my whole life. That’s all I ever wanted, even as a little kid, I wanted to be a nurse,” McNally says. “I loved it. I loved the profession.”
She retired in her 60s.
Stay Positive
The centenarian considers herself an optimist, a trait associated with “exceptional longevity,” studies have found.
“I think that’s part of what keeps me going is being optimistic. I always look at the good side of things,” she says.
