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Secret of his longevity: Take one day at a time |
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By ED MOORHOUSE
Burlington County Times
BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP — Raymond Banes celebrated his 100th birthday with friends and family members yesterday, but to Banes, age is only a number.
“I just look at it as another day,” Banes said. “Each day you have is special.”
About 100 of Banes' closest friends and family members attended his birthday party yesterday at the Masonic Home of New Jersey on Jacksonville Road, where Banes lives.
Among the guests were his three children, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Banes, whose birthday is Tuesday, is a former Mount Laurel resident and worked for Public Service Electric & Gas Co. in Camden for 42 years.
“He's one of the most humble and gentle men you would ever meet,” Banes' granddaughter, Donna Banes of Mount Laurel, said. “He has a very quiet, unassuming way about him. He's the rock of this family.”
Family members said Banes takes interest in current events, but also has a very sharp memory.
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Banes said he takes a lot of pride in his family.
“We all have a very good relationship,” he said.
Banes has been a member of the USS New Jersey Lodge No. 62, a Cherry Hill-based chapter of the freemasons, for 77 years. In 1941, he was the chapter's grand master, and is the oldest living past grand master.
“That's what age does, I guess,” he said. “All of the older guys (grand masters) have passed. You lose your friends. That's the saddest part...but you have all these younger generations here, so that's special.”
Banes said the secret to longevity is taking things one day at a time.
“I don't get too concerned with things day to day,” he said. “I don't have a whole lot, but with what I do have, a place to sleep and a family, I don't need anything else.”
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