A 105-year-old boy who survived the Spanish flu and survived 3 husbands hit COVID-19

Lately, Lucia DeClerck is getting a lot of attention. He celebrated his 105th birthday on Jan. 25, the same day he was diagnosed with COVID-19, CBS Philly reports.

Staff members at Mystic Meadows Rehab and Nursing Center in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, said the DeClerck station was virtually asymptomatic, but that it was in the COVID-19 unit of the facility for 14 days.

Now, he can be said to be a survivor of COVID-19, the oldest in the residence, according to The New York Times, which also spoke to DeClerck.

This means that the centenary has survived two pandemics. He was only two years old, living in Hawaii, when the Spanish flu started, according to the New York Times. DeClerck has also survived two world wars and has experienced the deaths of three husbands and the deaths of one of her three children.

DeClerck’s daughter-in-law told CBS Philly that she was a compassionate person. “He’s a very kind person,” Lillie Jean Laws said.

“She’s just been open with everything in life and I think that has really helped her because she hasn’t hesitated to do everything she wanted to do,” DeClerck’s son Henry Laws III told the station.

DeClerck’s resistance caught the attention of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who called her personally, Mystic Meadows staff told CBS Philly. “He was very kind. I wanted to see how he felt and he was so happy to see that he was recovering well,” the staff member said.

When asked about his secret to longevity, DeClerck said, “Pray, pray, pray. And don’t eat junk food.” But he told the Times that there may be another reason he survived COVID-19: the nine golden raisins that are eaten every morning.

Now, his family is adopting the unique regime that DeClerck swears by. “Now we all run out and get Mason jars and yellow raisins and try to catch up,” said his 53-year-old granddaughter, Shawn Laws O’Neil.