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'My wife said sit down and rest awhile': 85-year-old Kentucky man trades in retirement to stay in 'tree-top' shape

While many his age are living the quiet life, Gene Swift vows to stay active by joining a tree trimming service.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gene Swift is on the move.

He’s pulling branches, trimming limbs, getting them ready for the chipper and hand-splitting tree stumps.

While most 85-year-olds are enjoying the retired life, Swift kicked it by joining Dave Kannapell’s Tree Service.

“It’s good exercise for you,” he said.

Kannapell, who is 66-year-old and 20 years younger than Swift, is still nimble as a squirrel.

“He’s not afraid of hard work,” he explained. “He knows what hard work is, he’s not the least bit afraid of it.”

Swift added, “You don’t want to retire and go home and set in the rocking chair cause you’ll die. You want to stay active and busy all the time.”

Credit: WHAS-TV
Gene Swift, 85, hand splits tree stumps

Both men are Louisville natives, born and raised around the river. They know every nook, cranny and trees of the city.

“I’m very impressed with him, I always have been. For the first time I met him, I knew there was something special about him,” Kanappell said.

For Kannapel, who has a degree in forestry, Swift was an easy choice.

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“He runs around like a guy like 25, and he carries himself like a guy like 25,” he said. “He can do the job so well, the age factor is immaterial.”

Swift said his real job, before retirement, got him ready for this adventure.

“I worked 39 years at GE – General Electric – drove everything from screws into door gaskets to trucks,” he said.

The two worked to take down a Ponderosa pine on Lexington Road that homeowner Layne Adams carried home with her on a flight in 1987 after digging it up in Spokane, Washington.

Adams said the tree lived 35 years and wasn’t very big when she first had it. She was sad the tree was being cut down but understood it wasn’t used to Louisville’s climate.

“It didn’t like it here,” Adams said.

Credit: WHAS-TV
Gene Swift watches as Dave Kannapell trims a tree.

I like to chop wood but have never been any good at it and asked Swift for some pointers. My work wasn’t a thing a beauty, but my day was made by getting his secret to living a great and healthy life.

“A glass of wine once in a while. I don’t eat big portions of meat – a green vegetable, a yellow vegetable and a salad of course to start the meal. A nice green salad,” he said.

Swift also loves to dance and goes up to a winery with his wife near Corydon, Indiana on weekends.

It’s all in a day’s work for the 85-year-old.

“My wife said sit down and rest awhile. I say ‘no, I gotta go outside and do this and that.’ I’ve got to stay busy.”

Contact reporter Doug Proffitt at dproffitt@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@WHAS11Doug) and Facebook.  

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