Many people can’t wait to retire early. And then there’s 94-year-old Ann Schroeder who worked at the same company for 75 years, crediting her job for her long, healthy life. Schroeder just retired in October from the Davenport Spring Company in Iowa, where she was responsible for bookkeeping and customer service.
She still drives a half-ton pickup truck, lives independently in her own house and loves to go bowling. A bookkeeper by day, she also used to bartend two nights a week at a bar she owned for more than 30 years. Her late husband was a race car driver.
At almost 100, she looks decades younger and calls working one of her longevity secrets. “I really liked my job,” Schroeder, who lives in Bettendorf, Iowa, tells TODAY.com.
“It gave me a to wake up every morning, put my makeup on, dress up and go to work.” She loved going to work every day — “well, not every day, 90% of the time I enjoyed it,” she clarifies — and warns people against staying at a job they detest. “What a waste of life to go to work every day and hate it,” Schroeder says.
“It would be like being in a 50-year marriage if you hated each other.” Here’s what to know about Schroeder and her tips for a long life: Schroeder started working at the Davenport Spring Company in 1949, now part of the Mutual Wheel Company. It sells car and truck parts, and since Schroeder’s father was in the trucking business, it suited her lifestyle.
Schroeder got her driver’s license when she was 16.