By David Nathan

At the age of 95, Betty Ann Mahoney Themal ’48 walks a mile and a half three mornings a week, still drives, leads tai chi classes, takes adult education courses, and easily recalls events from 75 years ago.

Her recipe for a healthy mind and body well into her 10th decade?

“My mantra is: Keep moving and stay upright,” she says.

According to Themal, the key to her longevity is tai chi, which combines moving and meditation to benefit both mental and physical health. She has taught the Chinese martial art for 25 years and testifies to its capacity to enhance mindfulness and lower breathing and heart rates.

“You are concentrating on your body flowing from one move to another and not thinking about what you need to buy at the grocery store,” she explains from the home she shares with her husband of 69 years, Harry, in Wilmington, Delaware. “We move slowly but continually.”

“Continually” also aptly describes Themal’s support of her alma mater. She gives every year to the Lasell Fund, a reflection of her gratitude for the institution’s impact on her life and her interest in ensuring that future students benefit from its small-school feel.

“I used to be the kid in class who knew the answers but was so shy she didn’t want to put her hand up,” she recalls. “I became more outgoing and more independent at Lasell.”

She is pleased that Lasell has grown into a university but appreciates that it remains a small, close-knit community. “I believe that there are people who need that. I would have felt lost at a bigger school.”

A medical technician major as a student, Themal was a member of the field hockey team and Outing Club and took full advantage of Lasell’s proximity to Boston to attend sporting events, theater productions, and Boston Pops shows. She recalls living in Bragdon Hall in her first year and Casino as a senior, during which time she returned late one night and was subsequently “campused” (restricted to Lasell’s grounds) as punishment.

After graduation, Themal returned to her home state of Delaware and worked as a medical technician at the hospital where she was born. She later managed a private lab for a pathologist. After her two daughters were born, she left the lab and became a volunteer for her children’s school, the local library, and the Girl Scouts, as well as serving on town committees (and as secretary on them) for 27 years. “I have always stayed busy and been active,” she says.