Super Bowl's oldest volunteer still young at heart
Style Magazine Newswire | 1/31/2017, 1:15 p.m.
John Dansdill
HOUSTON - More than 31,000 people applied to become Super Bowl volunteers but only 10,000 were selected.
At 85, John Dansdill is the oldest volunteer.
"Why did I volunteer? Because I had the time,”
Dansdill told us.
The Houstonian is a native of Iowa who grew up during the Great Depression.
His travels through the years took him to Peru where he met Rita, the love of his life.
“She was a beautiful, young, dark-haired Latin beauty and we fell in love.”
Thirty years later in Honduras, a brain tumor took her away.
"Lost a wife. Pretty difficult. Very difficult,” Dansdill said. “Difficult being alone now too."
Now he has his collection of grandfather clocks to keep him company.
"Isn't that nice? Can you hear that?" he asked. "I live with all my clocks and I enjoy them."
But they aren’t the only things that make Dansdill tick. He plays softball with other 80-somethings.
"It's something to see an 85-year-old softball team."
And he volunteers every time he gets a chance. Dansdill considers being part of Super Bowl 51 an honor.
"Life doesn't owe me anything. I've enjoyed everything I've ever done,”
he said.
The youngest Super Bowl volunteer is a teenager who barely met the age requirement, turning 18 on Dec. 29. The two volunteers are separated by 67 years, but this week they’ll share a common experience – representing Houston on the NFL’s biggest stage.
For more information go to http://www.khou.com
