Homer Vess celebrated his 100th birthday Jan. 7 at the Columbia Lutheran Home in Ballard. But he does not reside there. He takes care of himself, and others. Vess volunteers at the home twice a week helping residents eat. He drives there from his Capital Hill apartment. He learned to drive his father's Model-T nearly 85-years ago in Rockford, about 30 miles south of Spokane, where he was born.

"If you can drive that, you can drive anything," he declared proudly. "You had to hand-crank the front to start it, and then use three pedals, one for reverse, and two levers."

Talk about customer loyalty. "I still stay with a Ford," he said, adding that his doctor told him he is supposed to walk half an hour a day.

The grandson of a Civil War soldier from North Carolina who deserted the Confederate army to fight for the Union, Vess said his grandfather's brother fought for the South. "They're buried about 10 feet apart in Rockford," he said. After the Civil War, he said his grandfather became a farrier, or horseshoer. "He always had a job and could make good wages. He was a good blacksmith and repaired metal rims on wagon wheels."

Vess is a retired sheet metal worker. During World War II, he was in Bremerton repairing the historic battleships, the Nevada, California, and the West Virginia, after they had been severely damaged by the Pearl Harbor attack.

Although Theodore Roosevelt was president in 1908 when Vess was born, he most admires the other Roosevelt. "I was in Spokane when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and FDR came on the radio," he recalled. "Oh, he made a great speech. Up till then all we knew about Hawaii was that's the place to go on vacation."

At Vess's birthday party, Beth Hartman, Columbia Lutheran Home support services, read from a booklet of 1908 events. She told Vess, "The year you were born was the last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. And the song 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' was written that year."

Hartman believes Vess is an inspiration to all at the Home. "I've seen him twice a week for the 11 years I've been here," she said. "He has so much energy and is always positive. His memory is excellent." She said Vess gives his time generously, and has volunteered here for 13 years, on Wednesday's and Friday's, since his wife, Alice Tilton, a resident here, died. "Vess sets up the dining room and helps feed people who can't feed themselves," she said. "He can get people to eat who would otherwise struggle with their meals. He's gentle, and takes his time. He's an example to all of us."

Jerry Lewis, director, Columbia Lutheran Home, said, "Homer is so reliable. He'll call ahead if he's not going to be able to make it in. He's a guardian angel here."