Meet Bimpy, the 102-year-old grandfather of food star Dan 'Grossy' Pelosi and his inspiration
Food and family are the stars of Dan Pelosi’s popular Instagram account, where the cookbook author is known as “GrossyPelosi.”
So many of his fans already know Bimpy, Pelosi’s grandfather, who recently turned 102 and still enthusiastically tucks into lasagna, pasta, meatballs and other Italian American favorites his grandson prepares.
“He has an appetite unlike anything I have ever seen,” Pelosi writes on his website, crediting the family patriarch for teaching him the joy of food and home cooking.
Some of his grandfather’s recipes for pizza, pasta and vegetables are featured in his cookbook, “Let’s Eat.”
“Bimpy’s endless appetite for food translates into his endless appetite for life, and thus mine,” Pelosi, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, tells TODAY.com.
“He and my grandmother always had enough food for everyone to have seconds and thirds, and there was always plenty to share with anyone who happened to drop by, which happened to be pretty much everyone. It’s an abundance mindset.”
Secret to longevity: 'Three good meals a day'
Bimpy is Felix Joseph Pelosi, born in Waterbury, Connecticut, on March 20, 1922. He still lives there independently with some in-home help hired in recent months to assist him.
He is a U.S. Navy and World War II veteran, and a retired toolmaker.
His granddaughter couldn’t say “grandpa” as a toddler, so she called him Bimpy, and the nickname stuck. (His grandson's own nickname "GrossyPelosi" comes from the movie "Never Been Kissed," where the main character, Josie, had a similar rhyming moniker.)
When asked about his secret of longevity, the centenarian gives food a prominent place on his list.
“Eating three good meals a day. Working hard. Keeping active,” Felix Pelosi, 102, tells TODAY.com via email.
“Lots of fish, pasta, vegetables and sweets. My favorite dessert is ice cream.”
He's loved being outdoors throughout his life with activities such as painting, gardening and fishing. Now, he mostly enjoys sitting outside in the warmer months talking to neighbors.
He has a hard time hearing over the phone so his family provided his responses via email. But the centenarian otherwise has no big health problems and has never had any major diseases like cancer or heart disease, he says.
People who live 100 years or longer aren’t rare anymore, but it’s uncommon for men to live that long. Among centenarians, 85% are women and 15% are men, according to the New England Centenarian Study based at Boston University.
Good genes are important and longevity runs in Felix Pelosi’s family: His mother and father lived to be 102 and 101, respectively. His brother lived to 96. His sister is now in her late 80s.
He never drank alcohol or smoked, and advises others to do the same if they want to live a long, healthy life.
“Do the best you can, whatever is asked of you. That’s all. Just live a straight life — walk straight and that’s it. No drinking. Keep working, keep active,” Felix Pelosi says.
“Every day makes me happy that I’m living. I have a nice family — the best there ever was.”
His grandson also credits Bimpy’s longevity to his big desire to make people and himself laugh, noting he’s constantly telling jokes, funny stories and anecdotes “to anyone who will listen.”
“It’s really an amazing thing to watch and to be a part of. Even in our family’s darkest moments, he understands the value of a smile,” Dan Pelosi says.
“I can’t say I hope to make it to 102, or any specific age. I can only hope to have as good of a life as Bimpy, offering plenty of food, laughs and smiles along the way.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
