The day I chatted with the Moody Family YMCA’s oldest member, who turned 102 on Sept. 15, also happened to be his 70th wedding anniversary.
Though these numbers might seem staggering to some, Eugenio Cazorla, though proud, simply smiled and shrugged them off. Originally from Seville, he spoke in a soft, enduring Andalusian accent as we talked of his decade at the Y, his life as a lawyer in Spain, his marriage to his wife, Judy, and many other things.
Cazorla moved to the United States in 1958 after receiving a fellowship to study comparative law at SMU.
“It was for nine months,” he said. “I’m still here. I got a master’s degree in comparative law.”
Dallas was an unknown place to Europeans back then, and the prop-plane flight made many stops. Cazorla’s pursuit of practicing law was hindered by the fact that, in 1958, while one did not need to be a U.S. citizen to practice medicine in Texas, it was a requirement for attorneys.
Cazorla recalled that the annual U.S. quota limit on Spanish émigrés was in the hundreds (with an estimated 25-year wait), while more than 50,000 spots were reserved for British immigrants. Since Judy was from Britain and already looking for a teaching job in Dallas, a friend at the consulate urged Cazorla to cross-immigrate with his wife. An Oxford graduate, Judy went on to teach Spanish literature at the University of Dallas for 45 years.
“I became an attorney in 1963,” Cazorla remembered. “The federal judge who took my oath was Sarah Hughes. Three weeks later, she took the oath from LBJ after the Kennedy assassination.”
It’s probably no coincidence that Cazorla became board certified to practice immigration and nationality law, which he did for over 50 years. He retired in 2021 at age 97. In regard to health, Cazorla noted that he didn’t start exercising until 62.
“Twenty years ago, I had a heart attack,” he admitted. “So, I had open-heart surgery, a bypass. Since then, perfect.”
After selling their Highland Park home in 2014, the Cazorlas moved to a condo in the Turtle Creek area, thus the Moody Family YMCA membership.
Cazorla doesn’t credit his workout routine for his centenarian status — he remarked that “exercise doesn’t add years to life, but adds life to years.” Time spent at the YMCA has helped him maintain a high quality of life and avoid some of the injuries that imperil older adults.
“Mostly, my longevity is due to luck,” Cazorla said, noting that his mother died at 46. “I took the genes from my father. My father had four brothers and one sister. All of them died in their 90s. My father was 96 when he died.”
“The most important thing for me: reading,” he added about the secret to his longevity. “Exercising your brain. Read, chess — exercise your brain one way or another. And sleep is very important.”
His reading preferences include history, biographies, essays, and American and foreign newspapers. Cazorla still drives and hits the YMCA nearly every day — weights, stationary bike, treadmill, and stairs.
“I’m optimistic,” he said of his worldview. “I think we’re going through very bad times. But I think, eventually, everything will be corrected.”
Cazorla spoke of his long, successful run in business and family life with characteristic, understated humility.
“I find too much fuss about being 102,” he said with a chuckle, “because I haven’t done anything.”
Author
Josh Hickman
Josh Hickman is a national award-winning journalist, visual artist, sometime musician, and author of seven books. His writing For People Newspapers often focuses on arts & culture, local small businesses, local history & government, and interesting personal stories. His paintings include a commission for Dallas County and a donation to Parkland Memorial Hospital.
