Roy Larson, a resident of Foundation House in Federal Way, marks his 100th birthday on June 13.

“I never expected in my lifetime to be this old,” he said, noting that at one time, “if you made it to 60 or 65, you were an old, old man.”

Born in 1910, the Tacoma native held a range of jobs before retiring in 1975: Loading log trucks and railroad cars, operating forklifts for 27 years, working as a butcher and meat cutter, and laboring in Tacoma’s shipyard during World War II. Larson has voted in every election, he said.

His wife of 63 and a half years, Lula, died in 1995. The couple had two daughters and six grandchildren. Larson lived on a 40-acre farm in Eatonville for decades until moving to Foundation House assisted living facility in 2009. Larson and his wife enjoyed traveling and fishing, and he wouldn’t want to live in any other state but Washington.

As for reaching 100 years of life, Larson insists he has no secret formula.

“I just live from day to day, and I’m damn lucky to do that,” he said, adding that he has no complaints or regrets in life. “You make your own life. Someone can’t make it for you.”