Advice from 101-year-old St. George resident: ‘Be considerate of other people’

Written by Stephanie DeGraw
February 20, 2023

ST. GEORGE — A positive attitude, adventurous spirit and family keep a 101-year-old St. George man going strong. Warren Hannig celebrated his birthday in January with his family.

“The craziest thing is that he is in great shape,” Caytlin Hannig said. “My great-grandfather still goes out to dinner with us and doesn’t depend on a walker or anything.”

Hannig’s current wife Susan agrees and said he works out daily in his garage, where he has set up some exercise equipment. His favorite breakfast is oatmeal with raisins and walnuts.

When he was growing up, his family used candles for lights since there was no electricity in their home in Washington, Utah. They also had to use an outhouse for a long time. Hannig was the middle of 11 children, with four boys and seven girls. Three of his sisters are still living.

Hannig served in the air force in World War II as an aerial engineer and was stationed in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. After serving for 3 years he came out as a sergeant.

(L-R) Caytlin Hannig enjoys a visit with her great-grandfather Warren Hannig and his wife Susan at their home in Stone Cliff, St. George, Utah, Feb. 6, 2023 | Photo by Stephanie DeGraw, St. George News

Later in life, he enjoyed having a farm with cattle. His first wife was Caroline Bentley and they had twin sons, Doug and Dexter.

In Southern Utah, he is most well known for being a general contractor.

“I did hundreds of homes, churches, schools and several commercial buildings,” said Hannig, adding that he looked forward to going to work every morning since he enjoyed it. “It was a lot of fun to wake up every morning, wondering what the day was going to bring you. I look forward to going to work every morning. If I had to do it all over again, I’d do the same thing.”

One of his most interesting clients was Elizabeth Taylor. He worked on one of her homes in California, and she was married to Michael Wilding.

“That was exciting. We were adding on to their home above Hollywood. She’d come up every day,” Hannig said. “She’d started honking her horn several miles before she got there. And she said, ‘Where’s Loverboy?’ Then they’d poured themselves a drink and walked around the fence.”

Hannig retired at 62 and then traveled to many foreign countries. Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies is his favorite place and is within Banff National Park.

Warren Hannig enjoys the family photo collages his wife Susan has decorated their home with, St. George, Utah, Feb. 6, 2023 | Photo by Stephanie DeGraw, St. George News

“At the lake, there’s a glacier. And in the afternoon, that fog rolls in over that mountain and it’s one of the most beautiful sights you’ve ever seen,” Hannig said. “That’s the prettiest place I’ve ever seen.”

One of the life lessons Hannig said he learned was to treat people well.

“Be considerate of other people and try to be fair with your dealings,” Hannig said. “Treat people like you’d like to be treated. I think that makes life happy. We’ve had some mishaps, but those things happen. We’ve had a real happy life.”

His advice for a happy life is to find something “you enjoy doing so you can look forward to every day.” Also, try to be active in life. Some of Hannig’s favorite activities were whitewater rafting and RVing.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephanie DeGraw is an award-winning journalist. For 25 years, she engaged in journalism, broadcasting and public relations. DeGraw worked for the Salt Lake Tribune, Associated Press and The City Journals. She was a reporter for a CBS television station in Twin Falls, Idaho. She graduated from Weber State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Broadcasting.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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