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St. Charles, MO (KMOV) — A volunteer in St. Charles has logged thousands of hours at a local hospital and at 90 years old, he says that’s part of his secret for going strong. Now, he is marking another life milestone in a surprising way.
Stop by SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital in St. Charles and most days, you’ll find Marty Berning here.
“I’m a volunteer currier,” said Berning. He started volunteering back in 1991.
“To me, I really look forward to coming in to volunteer. There is a self-satisfaction of thinking you are needed for something. I live by myself. If i don’t come in here, the phone doesn’t ring, I don’t talk to anybody,” said Berning.
“When you get to be 90 years old, your friends are gone. It’s sad thing but it’s true.”
Even on his off days, he comes by to exercise.
“People love him,” said Barb Hutchison, the volunteer director at the hospital. “He is one of our most famous volunteers, he’s just a great guy.”
In his 27 years volunteering here, Berning has logged nearly 8,000 hours. And as fulfilling as it’s been, there was still one other thing he wanted to cross off his bucket list.
“Back in 1950 I was drafted in the Army. I was in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. I was in the medical battalion but we were attached to 101st Airborne. We took our basic training with the airborne. We did everything they did, except we did not get to jump out of a plane. So that was kind of in the back of my mind all these years,” said Berning.
So for his 90th birthday in August, he took the leap.
“It was just unbelievably exciting. It was much more than I had expected,” said Berning.
He soared from 10,000 ft. and after a smooth landing, his family was waiting on the ground to sing “Happy Birthday.”
Marty is sure he was healthy and strong enough to skydive because of all those hours volunteering.
“Every night I thank God for letting me volunteer at this hospital,” said Berning.
And he has no plans to stop volunteering anytime soon. The only plan he is making is for 10 years from now, with his 8 year old grandson who watched him skydive that day, and asked when he got to go.
“And I said ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be 18 and I’ll be 100 and we’ll do it together!'”
In the meantime, you can find him helping in the halls of the hospital.
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