Longevity research shows that people who live with purpose live longer, healthier lives filled with passion and deep connections. Harriet Chase of Manhattan Beach exemplifies this. The active 85-year-old wife, mother, grandmother and former elementary school teacher has always given back to the community—and continues to do so today.
“I love to make connections with different organizations that help our children, neighbors and those in need,” says Harriet. “I’ve built my life around volunteering, education, my husband, family, friends, exercising and nutrition.”
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Manhattan Beach resident Harriet Chase and her husband, Dick, have been married for 63 years.
The organizations she volunteers with reflect and champion her priorities. For instance, Harriet is currently a neighborhood watch block captain, co-chair of the Health & Wellness Committee for older adults with the League of Women Voters of the Beach Cities, and a Senior Services Working Group member with the South Bay Cities Council of Governments.
Those are just a few of the organizations Harriet is committed to. She is also a member of the Newcomers to the Beach Cities nonprofit social group and attends the Manhattan Beach Joslyn Community Center’s Let’s Talk Woman to Woman 55+ discussion group and the Senior Advisory Committee.
The active senior also attends a regular book club, a Moai vegan potluck group with the Beach Cities Health District’s Blue Zones Project and is learning to play mahjong. “Clearly, I like to stay involved,” Harriet says with a chuckle.
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The mother of three, grandmother of six and foster parent of one has always prioritized her family and focused on their needs. Her volunteering and activities often reflect her desire to assist them and to create a better community, county, state and country. It’s why she used to volunteer with the Los Angeles County Commission for Children and Families, was an education representative for a foster youth, and participated in the League of Women Voters’ studies for foster care, juvenile justice and early childhood education.
With a mother who lived to be 103 and a mother-in-law still alive and well at 102 (whom she visits regularly), Harriet knows a thing or two about the value of exercise and good nutrition. In fact, her diet incorporates organic fruits and vegetables, green drinks and fermented foods. Her favorite healthy shopping spots are the Downtown Manhattan Beach Farmers Market and Muun Chi in Redondo Beach.
“I do a total-body workout three days a week at the Hermosa Beach Kiwanis Club, and I walk two days a week with a friend in my neighborhood,” says Harriet, who loves to go on weekend walks with her husband of 63 years, Richard, aka Dick, to the Greenbelt and Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.
Want to know her advice to those who are over age 55? Stay active, strive to make a difference, eat well and value time with your family.
You are what you eat, nutritionists advise. Here is a snapshot of Harriet’s go-to meals:
Breakfast: green drinks; oatmeal; sourdough toast with almond butter and sliced banana; yogurt with fruit, nuts and seeds
Lunch: salads, hummus, tabouli, beans with celery, pita (from the Downtown Manhattan Beach Farmers Market), sourdough toast with avocado and almond butter
Dinner: vegetable stir-fry with tofu, curries with brown rice or quinoa, soups (using Instant Pot), broiled fish (usually salmon), vegetables (steamed or roasted), pasta with mushrooms and other veggies, omelets with veggies, vegan ravioli (from the farmers market)
Drinks: water, decaf green tea
