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Larry Haubner laughs as folks at Greenfield Senior Living sing 'Happy Birthday' for his 105th in June 2007. PETER CIHELKA/THE FREE LANCE-STAR Visit the Photo Place

AREA MAN, 107, OUTLIVES SAVINGS ACCOUNT, AGAIN

Friends hope to raise money so Larry Haubner, 107, won't have to move

Date published: 6/10/2009

BY JIM HALL

When the friends of Larry "Curly" Haubner raised $56,000 for him in 2007, they thought the money would allow him to live the rest of his life in a Stafford County assisted-living center.

Now, they're not so sure.

Haubner is healthy and happy at Greenfield Senior Living, his home for almost five years. On Sunday, he will turn 107.

But he's in the same position he was two years ago. He's out of money and may have to move, a disruption his friends don't want him to go through.

To prevent that, supporters have revived the "Save Larry" campaign.

They've sent out letters to prior donors, set up a bank account and SaveLar ry.org Web site, and opened a "Causes" page for him on Facebook. To date, they've raised $1,065.

Nearly 500 people contributed to the original campaign so Haubner could remain at Greenfield.

The alternative is for him to apply for government funding and move to a nursing home. Greenfield is a private-pay home and does not accept Medicaid.

But supporters say he does not need the level of care offered by a nursing home and would not do well in one since he lives in a private room at Greenfield.

"I really consider this a life-or-death issue," said Carol Ewing, president of Bridges Senior Care Solutions, the company that represents Haubner as his power of attorney.

Haubner pays $3,500 a month to stay at Greenfield, a discount that the home provides from its usual fee of $5,600 a month.

About $1,200 of that fee is paid from his Social Security check and from a retirement account he has.

The remainder, about $2,300 a month, comes from the money raised in 2007. That money will run out at the end of August, said Jenna Kole, one of the campaign organizers.

Haubner lived for many years in Fredericksburg before moving to Greenfield.

He is the oldest person in the home and one of four residents there over 100. Thirty-six people live there.

"He's just amazing," said Carmen Cata, activity and volunteer coordinator. "He's the spark for this building."

Many days, no matter the weather, Haubner sits outside in a rocker. He takes no pills except a daily vitamin and is never sick.

He works out each day in his room with exercise bands and weights.

Cata said her exercise program for the other residents is not as intense as his.

He also enjoys walking with his walker.

"I can't tell you how many tennis balls he's worn out" on the bottom of his walker, said Connie Miller, executive director.

He does not hear well and apparently does not understand what is happening to him. He has outlived other members of his family and has no visitors.

Miller said Haubner is a "morale-boost" for the staff, and they want him to live out his life at Greenfield.

"That's our goal," Ewing said, "to keep him there."

Jim Hall: 540/374-5433
Email: jhall@freelancestar.com

The details of Larry Haubner's life are sketchy, though friends believe that he was born in Iowa on June 14, 1902. His father was a railroad worker, and his mother was a homemaker. He had two brothers and a sister. He never married. He enlisted in the Army at age 40 in New York City. On his enlistment papers, he wrote that he had completed three years of high school and was an airplane electrician. His initial enlistment ended six months after World War II ended. He worked as an usher at Carnegie Hall and at a lumberyard in the Fredericksburg area. He appears to have had a lifelong interest in diet and exercise. He was for years a curiosity in Fredericksburg, riding his bicycle around town, singing selections from his favorite operas. --Jim Hall

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Date published: 6/10/2009

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