'Age doesn't matter' for Louisville woman celebrating 105th birthday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- You know that when the news shows up, it must be an important birthday.

Juanita Green turns 105 on Tuesday, and she's still going strong.

"I tell all my friends when I speak to them: It's a new world," Green said. "Age doesn't matter."

Her wit is quick, and her laugh infectious. She still cooks for herself and lives independently.

"I'm enjoying everything," she said. "I'm still happy."

If wisdom comes with age, Green has more than enough to share, and she does so with a warmth and smile that captivates a room.

"Since I was 100, every year is just bigger than the other," she said. "It's just great every year."

Born March 12, 1914, Green has witnessed some of history's defining moments. That includes segregation, the start of the first World War, as well as every war since, and the Spanish Flu that killed 50 million people.

"During the epidemic — that's when my mother and brother and died," she said.

She has seen 18 U.S. presidents, the invention of television and the internet. She's even watched phones get smart. Really smart.

"I have a problem with my telephone," she said. "I don't understand anything about it."

If you sit with Green long enough, she'll show you some pictures. But if you're really, really lucky, she'll drop some valuable nuggets of her wisdom.

"I say I'm just a special person of God's," she said.

That wisdom shows how the simple principles in life stand the test of time.

"My secret is just being yourself," Green said. "Doing something good for someone else. Helping others: That's the main thing."

At 105, she's the oldest resident at the Hillebrand House, an apartment community in Louisville for the elderly or those with special needs.

On Tuesday, neighbors and friends will host a birthday celebration in her honor.

"I think the biggest thing she has done in this building, and for me, is inspire us all to push on," said Dusty Brummett, another resident of the Hillebrand House. "No matter what gets in your way, tell it to move."

IMAGES | Juanita Green at 105 reflects on her long life

Green said she grew up poor in Cloverport, Ky. She was married more than 50 years to the late Clark Green, who passed away in 1995. She describes herself as a "retired" bowler, with trophies pilled high in her living room and even drove herself to the bowling alley up until about three years ago. Longevity may be in the genes, as her brother Rev. Walter Earl Shawler lived to be 102.

She counts every day as a blessing.

"No pains, no aches or nothing. Only thing is I'm getting a little weak up there," Green said, pointing to her head. "And my body is really worn out. But that's OK. I did it in my younger days."

Though 105, she doesn't have all the answers and jokes in the explanation for how she stays so young.

"I can't understand that," she said. "I'm going to have to find that out in the next five years."

And because it's her birthday, Green gets to dish out some advice.

"If you don't use it, you lose it!" she said.

Words to live by.