104-year-old gives advice on longevity

She has lived through 19 presidents and five states' being admitted to the union.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
MINERAL RIDGE -- Lillian Grace Dechert Goehring has some advice for young people: "Always be a good person, and do what you can to help others."
Goehring should know; she'll be 105 Saturday.
Goehring isn't spry any longer, yet she seems to glide as she moves around Glenn View Manor with the help of a walker on wheels. She gets up in the morning, dresses herself and walks to meals, entertainment activities and church services.
"She really takes care of herself," said a daughter, Audrey James of Lordstown.
Goehring still has a sense a of humor. She says she still has all of her teeth -- they're just all false.
She has a firm handshake.
"If you're going to shake hands, shake hands. Don't just touch," she said Friday.
Hard work
Goehring attributes her longevity to hard work. Her father had a farm along state Route 46 near Cortland.
"I was raised on a farm and worked out of doors and walked. I helped my father a lot," she recalled.
She also had five brothers that she had to keep up with, and two sisters. They are all deceased.
Two brothers served in World War I, two others in World War II.
"I got along with all my brothers and sisters. I never fought with them," she said.
She says her mind isn't as sharp as it once was, but she recalls Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, who served from 1901 to 1906, and William Taft, 1909 to 1913.
She has lived through 19 presidents and seen five states admitted to the union.
Was teacher
Goehring was an educator, having taught grade school in Cleveland, Fowler and the former Ohltown School near Austintown. She is a 1919 graduate of Cortland High School and attended Ohio University from 1919 to 1920.
She and her late husband, Alvah, married in 1923. They raised five children at their West Park Avenue home in Niles. She moved to Glenn View six years ago.
Goehring misses attending Sunday services at First Methodist Church of Niles, where she has been a member for 70 years.
A minister holds services weekly at the nursing home, but Goehring would rather attend First Methodist.
The former teacher said she misses reading, a hobby she had to give up because of her failing eyesight. Her hearing is failing and she has some high blood pressure. She's never had surgery.
She spends a lot of time listening to the television.
Asked if she was enjoying life, she responded, "I guess so."
Still, Goehring said she believes people are living too long.
"I don't know how long I want to live. I'll wait to find out," she said.
yovich@vindy.com