Lynn man, 100, credits clean living for longevity

LYNN – Jim Huntley says the secret to longevity is clean living. And he should know. He turned 100 last week.?I?m very fortunate to have lived so long,” Huntley said. “There?s no reason for it.”But when pressed by neighbor Dick Newton – the assistant athletic director at Lynn English – Huntley elaborated.?What?s your secret?” asked Newton, to which Huntley replied, eat healthy, don?t drink or smoke, and live cleanly.?I grew up doing chores on a farm 25 miles from Plymouth,” Huntley said, “That was enough to keep me going.”Born Feb. 12, 1915, Huntley grew up in Scituate, and he moved to the North Shore to work at General Electric as a machinist in 1940. He studied machine work at Wentworth Institute of Technology, and worked at GE until he retired.Newton said he brings Huntley his newspaper daily and keeps an eye on him in the process. Newton has lived across the street for from Huntley for seven years (Huntley has been there since 1947).?How many people turn 100?” Newton said. “What?s most interesting is that he still is shoveling, walking around and having a good time. He?s not sitting down all day. He?s up and about doing his thing.”Newton said Huntley uses a snow blower, shovels his driveway, mows the lawn in season and even tinkers with cars. He was even driving last summer.?I?m in between licenses,” Huntley said. “It was about to expire, and I renewed it. But it never came in the mail.”Huntley said a home health aide visits daily for grocery shopping, cleaning and laundry.?She drops in to see if I?m still around,” Huntley said. “I live by myself here, so sometimes it gets a little lonesome. No one stays here overnight. My wife, Helen, died June 10, 2010 at the age of 95.”Huntley ate at the Porthole Pub for his birthday with his son, James, daughter-in-law, Barbara, and grandson, Andrew.?The Porthole surprised me with a small chocolate cake,” Huntley said. “After we ate, no one moved. I sat there waiting for what was going to happen.”He said while he didn?t receive any gifts, he got cards, but money wasn?t inside.Huntley said he doesn?t have any hobbies, other than watching the evening news and repairing old cars.?I never heard what time I was born,” Huntley said. “It doesn?t seem important.”