Time out with T.O. – Aging gracefully

Helen Harman displays a family photo.

As Helen Harman celebrates her 100th birthday today, there can be little doubt that her late husband, Denham, is smiling up above and telling others, "I told you so."

Nominated six times for the Nobel Prize, Denham Harman, MD, PhD, was a legendary researcher who served on the UNMC faculty for 52 years (1958-2010).

Known as the Father of the Free Radical Theory of Aging, Dr. Harman died in 2014 at the age of 98. His theory suggested that aging is caused by free radicals, atoms or molecules we produce ourselves or which come from radiation in the air.

At first, the theory was scoffed at by the scientific community. But, over time, it gained acceptance. He also proposed that you can slow the aging process by taking antioxidant vitamins such as E, C and beta carotene. The antioxidants limit the damage produced by free radicals.

Helen Harman's entry into the Century Club pretty much seals the deal — Denham really did know what he was doing.

"We always took our vitamins," said Helen, who has been living the past several years at an assisted living facility in northwest Omaha. "Each day, Denham would have a bunch of pill bottles in front of us. He would say, 'One for you. One for me. One for you. Two for me.' We'd go through this routine about every meal."

Helen is doing remarkably well. Although her hearing is not the best, her mind is sharp as a tack. A voracious reader, she watches only a little TV (mostly Fox News). One of her latest books is "The Vanishing Man" by Charles Finch.

She has excellent penmanship and still does needlepoint. Helen is currently working on a pillow cover featuring several penguin images — it's for her grandson who was enamored with penguins when he was a small boy.

She normally goes to bed around 8 p.m., wakes up between 5 and 6 a.m. and gets out of bed around 7 a.m. Helen can walk on her own, but she uses the assistance of a walker to provide better balance.

A native of Fresno, California, Helen has a remarkable story of her own. She graduated from Fresno High School at the age of 16 and went to the University of California at Berkeley with a double major in journalism/political science. She purposely focused her writing in government and politics, so she "wouldn't be stuck writing for the women's pages."

Denham asked Helen for a date following an exchange dinner at UCB between his fraternity and Helen's sorority. Three years later, when Denham finished his PhD, they tied the knot.

Their marriage produced four children — three boys (Doug, David and Mark) and one girl (Robin).

As Helen joked, "I finally got my girl, but I sure had to work for her."

An OB/GYN physician, Dr. Mark Harman served on the UNMC faculty for several years.

Helen's journalism career began in high school when she was a reporter for the Fresno Bee. She wrote for the Daily Cal, the student newspaper at UCB, then worked for two other California newspapers — the Paso Robles Press and the Modesto Bee.

Among her highlights — interviewing Eleanor Roosevelt for her high school newspaper when she came to the San Joaquin Valley as part of an agricultural study; and meeting John Kennedy in the course of interviewing his father, Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, who came to California to meet with his son, who was a student at Stanford University.

"Joseph pulled John out of Stanford and made him return to the East Coast to groom him to run for president," Helen said.

After marrying Denham, Helen was a dynamo in the public relations field, working for nearly three years for the San Francisco Chapter of the American Red Cross.

"There were four daily newspapers in San Francisco at the time," she said. "My goal was to score at least one story in each newspaper every day. I would do so by writing different leads for the same story to give each newspaper a different angle."

Helen's PR talents followed her to Omaha when the Harmans moved there in 1958. She was actively involved in promoting the Omaha Symphony's concert series, the youth orchestra, pops program and other initiatives.

She was active in several UNMC and community organizations, including the medical auxiliary, the faculty wives group, the Henry Doorly Zoo Guild, the Art Guild and Planned Parenthood.

The Harmans were married for 71 years. After Denham's death seven years ago, Helen gave no thought to moving.

She remembers fondly her first impressions of Omaha, and they remain today.

"We lived near Memorial Park. It was made to order. We loved that neighborhood. One older couple, whose grandchildren lived away, 'adopted' our children and even hid Easter eggs for them. They were spectacular.

"Within a day or two after moving there, I remember neighbors would stop by to introduce themselves and even drop off a cake or a main dish."

As she celebrates her 100th today, here's hoping she adds an extra scoop of ice cream to go along with her cake.