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Meet the 98-Year-Old Man Who Walks 6 Miles Every Day To Visit Paralyzed Wife in Hospital

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One of the secrets to staying young and living long is to always have a purpose. If you retire, sit down in a chair, and watch TV for the rest of your life, you will fade much faster than if you stay active, learn new skills, and find a reason to keep going.

Luther Yonger, a 98-year-old husband, has a reason to keep going. According to Spectrum News, he walks. Everywhere.

“My dad’s always walked. He says he does it to stay alive,” a daughter he lives with, Luthta Yonger, said.

It’s something he’s done for quite some time, and it’s clear that’s part of what’s kept him so spry over the years. Even he knows it himself, pointing out the difference between himself and “old guys.”

“You see, I’m not humped over like those guys out here – the old guys,” he said.

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His walks have taken a new direction recently, as his beloved wife Waverlee has been hospitalized. Two weeks in, he’s spent a good portion of his day walking to and from the hospital.

In all, the route is about six miles and takes him along an interstate. Don’t worry, though: he doesn’t have to walk, he just prefers it.



According to Yahoo Lifestyle, his daughter has a car and offers to take him, but “He just doesn’t want to wait; he’s impatient.”

“He still says, ‘nope I have to get out there to my wife,'” she continued. “I have to go.’”

That hasn’t stopped some kind passers-by to offer the globetrotting gentleman a ride. Dan Bookhard was driving by and saw him one day, so he did what he thought any respectable person would do.

“My upbringing; when you see somebody elderly, when you see somebody struggling when it’s raining… I had to pick him up and I couldn’t be one of the ones who would just drive by,” Bookhard said.

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Waverlee has had brain cancer for 9 years. She is paralyzed, but as long as her husband of 50 years can walk, he’ll move mountains to get to her side.

“She’s the best cup of tea I ever had,” Yonger said. “She would come in and kiss me and say baby and feed me in the bed and this is what I need right here.”

The love Luther has for Waverlee is clear: Actions may speak louder than words, but he’s got both.

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