Esther VanCura is living proof the benefit of exercising has no age limit.
The 98-year-old and her wellness coach, Nick Majoris, devote part of a morning each week to strengthening the senior’s core, maintaining muscle and keeping her mind sharp.
“It’s never too late,” said Majoris, who designed a program just for VanCura. “Esther is smart and she knows what she can and cannot do and that is so important. It is not just about exercising the body, it’s important to work on keeping her brain healthy, too. Brain health is so important.”
VanCura, who turned 98 on Nov. 25 and resides in West Deer, grew up on Pittsburgh’s North Side and is a Perry High School graduate. She and her late husband, Rudolph “Rudy” VanCura, who died in 2010, lived in Pine for decades and raised two children. They have six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Before starting a wellness program with VanCura, Majoris contacted her children to get their approval.
“My mom is doing great working with Nick,” said her daughter, Susan Wennlund, 68, of Naples, Fla. “I hope I can be like her when I am her age.”
Having Majoris there is wonderful because he has helped her get some of her strength back after a hospital stay a few months back, Wennlund said.
“My mom listens to what he tells her,” Wennlund said. “She has always been a person who always listens.”
While a lot of people waited to get their Real ID, Esther VanCura said she has had hers for years.
Her mind is still sharp, her daughter said. VanCura has a smartphone and sends text messages. Every morning she texts her children this message: “I’m up. I love you.”
VanCura plays cards, dominoes and bingo. She said she enjoys lunch outing with her neighbors, many who have become friends.
She does puzzles and is an avid reader. She worked for years as a secretary in the Pine-Richland School District.
Majoris said it is important to keep people motivated and that can help give them a chance to live longer and stronger.
“It is helping her 100%,” said her son, Fred VanCura, 71, of Austin, Texas. “Nick is a cheerleader, and my mom’s face lights up when she sees him. It’s a perfect match. She gets tired, but it’s a good tired. It is good to see her engaging.”
When working with VanCura, Majoris doesn’t use any weights or machines. He incorporates a stretching band, balls and a foam square. The two joke with one another. It was four days before her 98th birthday and Majoris said she does great for being 98.
“I’m only 97,” she said.
Fitness has always been a huge part of Majoris’ life. He started lifting weights when he was 12. He earned the title “Mr. Pittsburgh” in 1960.
Majoris served as a consultant for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Steelers and was a wellness coach for Bob Ford when he was the head golf professional at Oakmont Country Club. The two still stay in touch.
Majoris is on a restricted schedule for how much wellness coaching he can do because of limited physical ability from a car accident in 2022. But that hasn’t stopped his desire to connect with people. His mission in life has always been to reach out to people because human connection is so important, he said.
A text message can make someone’s day, Majoris said, because the person knows someone cares about them. He and VanCura send text messages. She knows how to work a computer and said technological advancements are amazing. She’s lived through having a wall phone to a flip phone to a smart phone. Something many people take for granted, such as a refrigerator, she recalls having an ice box, where blocks of ice had to constantly be delivered to keep food cold.
VanCura said the microwave is a wonderful invention because she can heat meals easily.
She was born in 1927 — during the time when the first televisions were in their early phase of development. Now, she can change a channel with a remote from her chair.
“I remember (having) a radio,” VanCura said. “My sister and I sat on the floor, my dad put the radio on, and we would listen to the ‘Lone Ranger.’ ”
She and Majoris, a husband, father and grandfather, who will turn 84 on Dec. 13, talked about the “Lone Ranger” during the exercise session. She said the time with Majoris gives her something to do and that Majoris makes her think.
“This is my gift to people,” Majoris said. “I’ve been blessed with a special gift understanding of seniors and their needs. Every one of us has a gift, and we share our gifts with each other. It is important to stay positive. It’s so easy to sit back and say, ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ ”
He could have done that after a cancer diagnosis in 2021, but Majoris designed a program like VanCura’s for himself that he uses to maintain strength and mind health, he said.
The moves involve leg and arm lifts during which he would ask her to switch from her right arm or left leg to the left arm and right leg to stimulate her brain. Proper nutrition also is important, Majoris said, and they often talk about that, too.
“For Esther, we work on breathing techniques and muscle memory,” Majoris said. “She’s a trooper. She learns things from me, but I also learn things from her.”
With a degree in sports medicine, Majoris worked for many years as a director for the former European Health Spas.
He has been called “The Macho Man” because he was featured in the music video from The Village People — he met the band through Pittsburgh-based concert promoter DiCesare Engler Productions.
Majoris has an upbeat personality. He said connecting with seniors is his mission.
“It’s about eating better and exercising, but it’s also about knowing a person’s health history and what makes them tick,” said Majoris, an Army veteran originally from Johnstown who now lives in Richland.
“Attitude is so important. Esther has a great attitude.”
VanCura met Majoris and his wife, Barb, at Cross Roads Presbyterian Church in Pine.
“We’ve been talking in church and just joking and one thing led to another, and I just talked to Esther one day about coming over here to help her out,” Majoris said. “God has blessed me with the gift of helping people.”
VanCura feels like God has blessed her, too.
“The Lord has granted me this time,” she said, smiling as she did arm stretches. “The Lord is why I’ve lived this long.”