There was a time when turning 100 was big news. You were in very rare company.

Today, widespread better health means that people over 100 are the fastest-growing segment of the population, according to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. There are more centenarians now than at any time in history–an estimated 53,000 in the U.S. and 700 in Kansas.

Better public health is to thank, the decrease in tobacco use being the single largest factor, said David Johnson, Kansas University associate professor in psychology and gerontology and research scientist in the Life Span Institute.

Although reaching 100 is more common than before, Johnson said, the average life span remains in the 80s, so we can still learn a lot from centenarians. Research shows personality and lifestyle really matter, Johnson said.

“For centenarians, each one of them is their own experiment in long life and how did they do it,” he said.

Mabel Stoneback will turn 100 on April 5 and has an active social schedule that includes getting together with friends at the clubhouse of Prairie Commons Apartments to play cards twice per week, bingo once per week, and enjoy a monthly potluck.

Stoneback grew up in Lawrence and worked various jobs, mostly as a stenographer, after graduating with a degree in business from KU in 1938. She attributes her longevity to staying active and “having a positive attitude about everything.” True to that, she said she feels great about her upcoming birthday.

“It seems to me it just happened overnight,” Stoneback said. “All of a sudden here I am, going to be 100.”

Stoneback also stays busy at home, doing puzzles and following her beloved KU basketball team. She has a game schedule poster pinned to the wall in her living room and a framed photograph of James Naismith and her late husband on the end table.

“I wouldn’t miss a game,” she said, smiling. “I used to go to the games, but, gosh, it got too loud for me.”

Staying engaged and active and maintaining close relationships with friends and family are important for a long life, Johnson said.

“It seems that social connectedness enhances our immune system for some reason that we don’t understand fully,” Johnson said. “We are just happier people; we’re more satisfied with life.”

Betty Jane Moore has celebrated her past five birthdays at Pachamamas. At this year's celebration on Feb. 14, former Pachamamas pastry chef Jay Tovar-Ballagh dropped by to give Moore a bottle of white wine and chocolate truffles with raspberries.

Topeka resident Betty Jane Moore, who turned 100 on Feb. 24, celebrated her birthday two weeks early so she could have dinner at her favorite restaurant, Pachamamas, before its recent closing. The family had made a Pachamamas dinner a birthday tradition for Moore starting with her 95th. Moore said she feels lucky to have a lot of family support as well as her health.

“When I look in the mirror at myself I know my age, but I don’t feel my age,” she said.

Moore said she doesn’t put any restrictions on herself — she loves milk chocolate, white wine and real butter — and lives by the motto, “everything in moderation.”

One impact of longer life spans is that the definition of retirement is changing, said Amber Watts, KU assistant professor of clinical psychology whose research focuses on health and aging.

“It doesn’t mean that people just stop working and hang out on the golf course,” Watts said. “People still need health insurance and they still need an income, especially if they’re going to live another 40 years.”

To support themselves financially, many will need to work part time after the traditional retirement age, and employers need to accommodate that need, Watts said.

Eva Steffen, who turned 100 Jan. 29, listed about a dozen jobs she worked — from folding newspapers at the age of 13 in Belfast, N.Y., to cleaning, waitressing and retail jobs.

Even after she retired from Parsons and Kring Floor Covering, now Kring’s Interiors, at the age of 62, Steffen said she did some part-time jobs, “just to work.” She also likes organizing and running garage sales for others. Working, Steffen said, is one of the keys to her longevity.

“Just living right and working hard,” she said. “I’ve done that. Lots of that.”

Attitudes and expectations about aging are important, but for centenarians, notions about what life will be like aren’t established, Watts said.

“I think you have to figure out for yourself what life is going to be about, being in this unprecedented part of life that there isn’t really a lot of expectation for,” she said.

J.F. Jim Schubert, sitting, celebrated his 100th birthday on Feb. 19, 2015. Standing, left to right, are daughter-in-law Marie Schubert, daughter Virginia Curran, son Richard Schubert, daughter Marilyn Wooldridge, and son-in-law Peter Curran. The photograph was taken at the Lawrence Country Club, where Schubert became a member in 1946.

J.F. “Jim” Schubert celebrated his 100th birthday on Feb. 19. Schubert owned the Jay Shoppe, formerly at 835 Massachusetts St., a women’s dress and sportswear store, from 1952 until his retirement in 1984. He was on the city commission and was mayor in the 1960s.

Even though Schubert has been less mobile the past few years, he recounted with enthusiasm playing golf and taking part in breakfast and dinner groups with friends. He and his dinner companions called themselves the ROMEOs: Retired Old Men Eating Out.

These days, he said he enjoys learning about things. Part of his daily routine is reading the newspaper, and alongside his chair by the window is a heavily thumbed-through bird watching guide he uses to identify the species at the birdfeeder. He said his favorite to watch for is the redheaded woodpecker.

As more people live longer, they are also more likely to suffer from chronic illness such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s or arthritis, Johnson said. While some can rely on family, there is a growing need for caregivers.

“The reality is that we need to train a caregiving workforce for our older adults, because there’s going to be an awful lot of older adults that need some help. Hopefully not a lot of help,” Johnson said.

Centenarians, though, tend to be in relatively good health, or they wouldn’t have made it to that age, Watts said.

“People who are robust enough to live to that age, they’re special people,” she said.