MORGAN -- Even though Edna Russell is going to be 104 on Monday, she's not quite sure of the secret to her longevity.
It might be simply not worrying about age, and it's definitely not anything to do with her diet.
"When I was younger, I never dreamed or thought about dying," said Russell, who was born June 14, 1906. "I eat common food, like everyone else."
Maybe it has been an appreciation of the finer things in life like classical music, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, or the oil paintings that adorn her walls at the Family Tree Assisted Living center in Morgan. In her youth, Russell's second alto singing voice joined with the voices of two of her sisters in a trio that sang at many gatherings throughout Salt Lake City, where Russell was born and raised.
Maybe she's been sustained in her long years by her six children, 20 grandchildren, and 36 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren, most of whom live in the area.
"I love my children, and I have a big posterity," Russell said.
But maybe it is all the things she still has left to accomplish. An admitted procrastinator, Russell worries about all the things she has left to label in her Morgan home.
After spending time in southwestern Colorado in her youth; Kamas, Utah, following her 1928 marriage; two years in Phoenix for her husband's health; and eventually Morgan, where her husband Laddle served as a public school administrator, Edna says she's grown to love Morgan County.
"At first, I had my nose all bent out of shape to move to Morgan," said Russell, who has lived in Morgan more than 50 years, or about half her lifetime. "But that was one of my biggest mistakes, because it's a wonderful valley and people in Morgan."
In her years, she's seen a lot of struggle. She was just 12 years old when the nation entered World War I and 23 years old when the Great Depression hit the nation. The vision of hearses traveling down the road daily was part of her life during the 1918 flu epidemic in Salt Lake City. In addition, she lost a child to an accident about 70 years ago.
Economic hardship is nothing new to her.
"We started below the barrel financially when we were married, like a lot of kids do," Russell said. "But by the time we sold our home in Kamas, we had a 1,000 acre ranch."
Russell still owns land in Kamas as well as Morgan.
Throughout the years, her faith has kept her going, Russell said. As a long-time member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she has served two decades extracting names for family history, and as a music director for several different wards.
She attributes her avoidance of alcohol and tobacco to good health throughout the years.
Despite the years -- more than 35 since his passing -- Russell remembers her husband of 47 years fondly.
"He was one of those dynamic men," Russell said about her husband. "He ran a car business, a 1,000 acre ranch, and was a school principal -- all at the same time."
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