He’s lived quite a full life

Every time you remind Hector Zayas-Bazan that he’s 95 years old, he shoots back with a one-word reply.

“Only,” the smiling Cuban native says, waving his finger in the air for emphasis.

If there was ever the epitome of 95-years-young, the spry, former MIT researcher with a Spanish accent is it.

He’s traveled enough for two lives — he’s been to what seems like every country in Central and South America — and says the key to his longevity is never smoking, drinking or doing wrong by people.

Only 95, he says. For Zayas-Bazan, that only could just as easily mean he’s only just begun.

Just three weeks ago, Zayas-Bazan became the oldest person to ever graduate from Costa Mesa Police Department’s Citizens Academy, a 13-week course that trains people to serve as volunteers in the department and gain understanding of what officers do out in the field.

“He did not miss one class in the 13 weeks. He’s friendly, outgoing, everyone in the class enjoyed having him,” said Sue Hupp, the police department’s citizen’s academy coordinator.

“He even wanted to have dancing at the graduation.”

While people decades his junior don’t have the energy to make it through the three-hour classes ending at 9:30 p.m., Zayas-Bazan was there every week until the end of class, sitting in the front, asking questions and participating whenever he could, Hupp said.

“I think I looked younger than everybody,” Zayas-Bazan jokes.

He said his favorite part of the academy was the ride-along, though his eyes shine brightest when he talks about going to the department’s firing range.

He chuckles when he mimics picking up a rifle and shooting it down range.

“My God, I never realized ... so many guns,” he said.

Inside his second-story Costa Mesa apartment, everything is in its place. The table is neatly set, knickknacks on the tables are clean and tidy. A picture of Zayas-Bazan and his wife rests near the front door.

His wife of 76 years, Hilda, died about seven months ago. She was 96.

“I needed to do something,” Zayas-Bazan said of his reason for joining the academy. “Now I want to have some opportunity to work.”

He certainly is a hard worker.

Zayas-Bazan was born in 1914 in Cuba, where he was a professor of law, ethics and pharmaceuticals until he resigned and flew to Miami in 1956.

From there, he picked up a job as a researcher at MIT in Boston, where he stayed for another 20 years.

During that time, he traveled throughout Pan America, speaking at conferences on pharmaceuticals.

In 1978, Zayas-Bazan retired from MIT and moved out here near his daughter, where he’s lived ever since. He has one daughter, one granddaughter and one great-granddaughter.

Now this 95-year-young man waits for his next assignment.

“He’s just a very humble man and just wants to get involved in the academy,” Hupp said. “We’re holding on to him and we’re not going to forget him.”

After meeting him, who would?

Hector Zayas-Bazan

1914 – Hector Zayas-Bazan is born in Cuba

1939 – Zayas-Bazan receives his doctorate from Havana University in Cuba

1956 – He resigns his position as a professor in Cuba and flies to Miami, where he is offered a job to research and teach at MIT

1978 – He retires from MIT in Boston and moves to Costa Mesa to be closer to his daughter, who also lives in Costa Mesa

May 13, 2009 – Zayas-Bazan graduates from Costa Mesa Police Department’s Citizen’s Academy.