110+

We talked about this earlier this year, when Vincent Dransfield, oldest active firefighter in the US, turned 110. 

There will be no 111th birthday party, but who can say he didn't have a great life? Mr. Dransfield died on June 26 at home in New Jersey, quietly, just as he wished to go, near the Singac Fire Co. No. 3 firehouse where he volunteered for 85 years. 85 years!

His grandaughter, Erica Lista, mentioned that she had visited three days earlier, bringing him photos from his great-grandson's high school graduation. She had brought him the analgesic cream he used to combat knee pain, which was about the only thing that slowed him down in his last years.

He lived in the same house for the past 79 years, alone since his wife, Ann, died in 1992. 

As many volunteer fire companies do, Singac has an antique engine. Mr Dransfield helped refurbish it in the 1980s. It was "Chief's" final wish to be taken to his rest aboard it, and that happened last week.

And since he had credited malted Ovaltine (that flavored milk drink) with his longevity, his fellow firefighters sent him off with a jar of that, along with the hat you see below.

Who could ask for anything more?