Among the constant thuds of dropped dumbbells and hum of treadmills, a 99-year-old white-haired outlier glides through the busyness.
Clad in a bright pink bowtie atop a white polo, dark track pants and white sneakers, Billie Bob Sykes uses a walker to stroll across the gym floors of a large Gainesville fitness center.
She stops to chat with anyone – familiar or not – to offer encouragement during their workouts.
“Oh, honey, you’re doing a great job on that,” Sykes, a prekindergarten instructor for 35 years, tells a man doing leg extensions.
Sykes joined Gainesville Health & Fitness soon after her husband, Lucien Sykes III, died in 2000. Even with the support of her four children, she felt she needed to be out and around people.
“She joined the gym just for somewhere to go and meet people and get out of that mindset of now being alone,” her daughter, Pat Massimillo, 67, said recently. “It was a motivation to get up every day and go, not only to exercise, but to be able to communicate with other people.”
After being a member and consistent face at the gym for many years, the fitness center offered Sykes a volunteer “ambassador” position in 2016.
“She loves everybody; everybody loves her,” said Beth Borsa, a group fitness instructor at the gym. “She welcomes everybody in, and she’s sincerely excited when they join (the gym.”
Sykes was born March 9, 1925, in Bainbridge, Georgia, 40 miles north of Tallahassee. Her parents, Willie May “Billy” Howell and Robert “Bob” Howell, named her after their nicknames.
Sykes played tennis and golf in high school and The Ogontz School, an all-women's college in Pennsylvania where she studied early education. She met her future husband soon after his World War II service ended. In 1948, they married and moved to Gainesville when his mechanical engineering job transferred him.
The couple then lived for two years in Winter Haven due to another work transfer before settling in Gainesville. Now, Sykes boasts four children, all in their 60s, and eight grandchildren. She still lives in the same house she did in the 1960s.
Three of Sykes’ children still live nearby, and Massimillo, a local commercial lender and bank manager, attributes her mother’s continued health to her active lifestyle. Sykes agrees.
“I believe very much in taking care of yourself, exercising,” she said. “You’re never too old to keep yourself moving, but it’s up to you whether you want to do that or not.”
Sykes has also developed a second family at the gym. Several employees there have been alongside her for decades, including Debbie Lee, senior director of marketing, Karen Coley-Cannon, a sales and marketing representative, and Jan Campbell, of the membership office.
“I call her my momma away from my momma,” Campbell said.
Coley-Cannon said, “She’s made an impact on a lot of people, and a lot of people made an impact on her, and that’s why she keeps doing it.”
Sykes attends “Sit to be Fit” classes the gym offers for members who are much older and/or with limited mobility. Even her classmates find Sykes inspirational.
“She’s a great person,” said Judy Luck, who met Sykes through a class about 11 years ago. “Everybody says they hope to grow up and be her, and I do, too.”
Even with the century birthday around the corner, Sykes is still independent and mobile, driving herself to not only to the gym, but also to the grocery store and for hair appointments, Massimillo said.
“She’s just remarkable,” the daughter said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults 65 years or older who regularly exercise not only reap physical benefits such as lower blood pressure and long-term heart health, but they also may gain substantial increases in mental health. The risk of dementia development and depression are lower for active seniors, according to the CDC.
Kathleen Cameron is the senior director at the National Council on Aging’s Center for Healthy Aging in Arlington, Virginia. While each person’s genetics are different, Cameron sees both Sykes’ consistent exercise and social engagement as reasons for her sustained mental quality.
“Loneliness is something that a lot of older adults experience, and that alone, isolation and loneliness, has negative health impacts on our brains, on our heart and other organs,” Cameron said. “She’s doing all the right things. She really is.”
After her classes are done, Sykes spends time at the front door greeting gym-goers with a “Hello, there," or “Bye, have a nice day.” Next to her is a small table with lollipops and mints.
“I like for people to leave the gym with a sweet taste in their mouth,” Sykes said.
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