PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
The ACTIVE CENTENARIAN
World War I was ending when Lou Wolfson
was born in Moscow, Pennsylvania, to two
immigrant parents from outside Moscow, Russia.
Still spry at 100, Lou works out three or four
days a week at the Verano Clubhouse gym, where his son is
a resident. The former chiropractor and physical education
teacher is quick to credit those around him for his good health.
“I am here because of the excellent care I get from my son,
Marty, and the people at Watercrest and the excellent food
they give me,” says Lou. Verano and Watercrest are less than
two miles away from each other between Tradition and St.
Lucie West.
Known as “Doc” in Gary, Indiana, Lou taught physical
education, including years with special education students,
coached Little League and served as a scoutmaster while raising
two sons.
Hundreds of young children from Gary learned their
lifelong swimming lessons from Lou during their summers
away from school.
Marty loves to tell the story of visiting Disney’s Animal
Kingdom and chatting with a stranger when they realized
they were both from Gary. “Wait a minute, ‘What is your last
name?’ the man asked. Then added, ‘Your father taught me
how to swim.’ “
With a twinkle in his eye, Lou tells the story of a boy born
without legs who used to wear braces with shoes, so in a
wheelchair it would look like he had legs. “When I taught
him how to swim, I thought he was going to scratch my chest
with his fingernails, he was holding me so tight,” says /ou,
like it happened yesterday.
The boy grew to be a man, beat a drug problem, became
a certified public accountant and raised a family, /ou says
proudly.
Lou is the youngest and only surviving child of six children
born to his father, Morris, who died at the age of 105. Morris
was a merchant, junk dealer, shoemaker and gardener, Lou
says. He worked many jobs to pay the bills for his six sons
and daughters, who would all graduate from college.
Marty says: “My parents were very loving, generous
people. They made time for us and they were always involved.
Our parents took us to athletic games early on. I
played college basketball and baseball, and my parents were
50 Port St. Lucie Magazine
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BY GREG GARDNER
GREG GARDNER
From free weights to machines, in his 100 years Lou Wolfson has seen many changes in technology. He marvels how you can talk into a phone and get
the answer to your question in seconds.