Dody Patterson's Recipe for Longevity: 104-Year-Old Reveals Secret

Dody Patterson's secrets of longevity sound like common sense.

She calls her work ethic and interest in knitting her hidden key. "I've been busy with my hands nearly all of my life," she said. Residing in an assisted living home in Good Samaritan Society, Eugene Village, Oregon, she told TODAY that the exercise for others is also "satisfying, restful and gives exercise to her eyes and hands."

Hence, although it is cold and you may be unable to withstand it at Eugene, Oregon, you could turn to Dody. All day she knits about 250 warm, woolens for 'Caps for Kids', a local charity that distributes them to many homeless children in the community.

"If I had a goal to hit it would be to knit a few more hats for charity before I finally hang up my knitting needles," she has been quoted as saying in Facebook.

Moreover, her diet has helped her to remain healthy and fit till the age of 104. Her main foods are fruit, vegetables and nuts. She also includes poultry and seafood, but stopped beef and pork when she was about 80 years. She also avoids dairy products. Instead, she exercises three or four times a week in her nursing home gym.

Dody is convinced that good genes also help her to live long. With a 95-year-old sister and 97-year-old brother, her family has a good record of longevity.

The Cap program was begun 17 years ago by Mona Rummel, who first met Patterson when she visited her yarn shop in Eugene. Patterson soon became one of the 40 volunteers. Out of charity, some 1,500 caps were collected this year, which Rummel distributed to schools and shelters. Since 1990, the caps were distributed to low-income families.

The hobby has helped her to remain healthy and live for a long time, as it helps her to socialize, calms her down and keeps her mind active. It has also given her a purpose and joy in her life, said Laura Lambert, her granddaughter.

Born in a 900-acre cattle ranch in Haskell, Texas, Dody began to knit since she was seven years old. She was a beautician who was married for 43 years but widowed in the 1970s. Though she fell in her garden in 2011 and fractured her right shoulder and pelvis, she could not undergo surgery, but her anxiety and urge to recover forced her to return to her hobby. While her family visits her everyday, she is thankful that is able to pursue the hobby that keeps her alive.