Elia PowersNinety-one-year-old Bee Edwards has a motto...

Elia Powers

Ninety-one-year-old Bee Edwards has a motto that helps explain the

frenetic pace of her life: “I’d rather wear out than rest out,” she

repeats.

She takes art classes. She paints. She builds miniature

dollhouses. She exercises.

Hers isn’t a stroll-through-the-mall type of workout, either.

Edwards, a 50-year Newport Beach resident, does a strenuous Pilates

routine for one hour, twice a week, and for two hours each Wednesday

in a room with a 180-degree view of Fashion Island.

She leans, twists, lifts, reaches and rows on state-of-the-art

equipment. No sweat.

“The workout has helped me a lot,” she said. “It loosens up

everything in my body and helps with my circulation and general

well-being.”

The training room has a special meaning to Edwards. It was where

her husband, Edwards Cinemas founder James Edwards, once had his

office. He built up a chain of theaters around Los Angeles in the

1930s and moved the family to Newport Beach in the 1950s.

When James Edwards died eight years ago, Bee Edwards said she

remembered one of his favorite sayings: “You have to live life to its

fullest.”

So she vowed that day to make a lifestyle change.

“That’s when I grew up,” she said. “He was the one who took care

of everything. It was time for me to become self-sufficient.”

Bee Edwards had worked for periods of her life and had worked out

sporadically, but she mostly considered herself a homebody.

In her mid-80s, she began to experience pain in her legs and

knees, and underwent physical therapy. It got so that she had to walk

with a cane.

“I thought to myself, ‘I don’t like this,’” she said. “So I threw

it away and said, ‘I don’t want that anymore.’”

That’s when Edwards joined the Body Design fitness center, where

her daughter-in-law, Patty Edwards, was already a member. She became

the oldest member at the center by about 20 years.

Her commitment to regular exercise motivated her daughter, Carole

Ann Ruoff, and her granddaughter, Glenna Ruoff, to join Body Design.

“I wouldn’t have gone if it weren’t for her,” said Glenna Ruoff,

who had scoliosis. “A lot of people give up at her age. She’s never

taken that attitude.”

Amy Fischer, a physical therapist at Body Design, has trained with

Edwards for about a year. She works Edwards through a rotation that

consists of Pilates machines, weightlifting and exercise-bicycle

riding.

Fischer said Edwards never complains and never misses an

appointment.

“She’s always motivated because she believes in keeping her body

healthy,” Fischer said. “She handles the workout better than some of

my 30-year-olds.”

Edwards no longer walks with a cane. She moves with ease and has

model posture.

She socializes with her relatives as they move through their

workouts. And she considers herself blessed to have three children,

nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren all living in Newport

Beach.

“She is an inspiration to all of us,” Carole Ann Ruoff said. “I

can’t keep up with her. She is busy all the time. That’s what keeps

her young.”

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at

elia.powers@latimes.com.