Francis Niver spent her 100th birthday doing what she loves the most: snowmobiling. On Monday, family and friends gathered together at her home in Marion.
“This is quite a surprise to me,” she said. “I didn’t know they were going to do this, or I probably would’ve left home before you got there. Haha.”
Back in the day, Francis was a member of Team Highland, a snowmobile team that started in the 70’s.
“I remember as a little kid, I was probably nine or ten years old riding with my grandparents, they were good friends with Francis and her husband and they took all of us kids riding and stuff, so it’s kinda neat to be able to do this again,” said Dave Swiler, a close family-friend.
When asked about Francis, many had similar things to say.
“She is a ball of fire,” said Swiler. “She is very spry. To look at her, you wouldn’t think she’s 100 years old. She looks more like she’s 75 or so and she’s full of, lot of zip in her step.”
When it comes to any advice on living until 100, Francis kept it simple.
“If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it,” she said. “I don’t feel any different than I did 20 years ago. I think I’m pretty fortunate to think I still feel like I did years ago. Still do most of the things that I did before. I still go dancing, have fun, that’s what it’s all about.”
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