PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — WWII veteran and Pensacola resident Charley Pritchett celebrated his 100th birthday at Azalea Trace on Wednesday, surrounded by friends and family.
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“I’m fortunate enough that I’ve been healthy all the time,” said Pritchett. “I’ve never had a broken bone in sports and all the kind of stuff. It’s just luck when you can do that.”
Along with birthday presents, he was gifted a lifelong learning recognition from the University of West Florida.
At 74 years old, Pritchett began classes at UWF. Since then, he’s taken over 50 college courses, more than any other senior citizen participant in the university’s free tuition program.
“Most people, when they get to 70 or 80 or 90, you know they’re not going to be around, so I think when people see somebody like me lasted that long, I get the feeling that I’m a little bit of help to them that well,” said Pritchett. “‘If he can do, and he doesn’t look very smart to me, then I can do it.’”…