When he turned 47, Louis “Lou” Tedone started taking stock of his health. “My father died at 50 years of age. His father died at 50 years of age. And I felt that I resembled my father,” recalled Tedone, San Luis Obispo’s first pediatrician. Standing 5 feet, 7 inches tall, he weighed 197 pounds with “a nice panza,” or, belly, he said.

Worried about what would happen to his wife, Grace, and nine children if he died, he vowed then to get “in the best shape possible.” Tedone, who celebrates his 94th birthday on Friday, has stuck to his pledge to stay active. In addition to his regular exercise routine, he makes dozens of balls of fresh mozzarella cheese every morning by hand.