Rudolph Eason Sr., 100, construction company owner, poetry lover

YOU WOULD have been advised to pay attention when Rudolph "Scooty" Eason Sr. offered diet advice.

He celebrated his 100th birthday May 25, as alert and feisty as ever, a milestone he attributed to his religious faith, work ethic and diet.

He believed that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and he favored a big bowl of oatmeal to get the system geared up for the day's work.

"He told people to drink plenty of water and eat green vegetables to keep their system regulated and flushed," his family said.

Whatever it was, Scooty Eason lived a full and active life, from driving truckloads of explosives along the Burma Road to playing and coaching baseball, running his own construction company and devoting himself to church and family.

He died Monday. He had lived in West Philadelphia for 82 of his 100 years.

That Burma Road adventure came in World War II, when he was assigned to the Army's all-black 4014 Quartermaster Truck Company.

He drove explosives and other supplies from Burma, now Myanmar, to China, through the Himalayas, where he always believed that the altitude cost him part of his hearing. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of sergeant.

After the war, Rudy worked for the J.R. Bunting Glider Co., in Philadelphia, as a press operator, and retired after 41 years of service, proud of his perfect attendance.

His construction company helped build the 69th Street Terminal, in Upper Darby, among other projects.

Rudy enjoyed coaching neighborhood youngsters in his favorite sport, baseball. He started and managed the Spartans, a semipro team, and traveled with it up and down the East Coast playing other teams.

One of the teams the Spartans played featured a young pitcher named James Augustus "Catfish" Hunter, in Hertford, N.C. Hunter went on to become a Major League star with the Athletics and Yankees.

Rudy managed the Spartans for 25 years until they all became too old to compete.

He was born in Elizabeth City, N.C., where he got his early education, reaching the ninth grade. He married Mary M. Eason in 1937. She died in 1989.

Rudy was a 45-year member of Calvary Baptist Church, where he was active in a number of church missions and was always available for whatever needed doing.

He enjoyed watching Western movies, baseball games and spending time with his family, whom he entertained with anecdotes from his life.

He loved to frequently recite the lines about a man who lived the high life until he lost his fortune:

But when I began to fall, I fell so low

I had no friends, nowhere to go.

Down in my pocket, I had not any,

Deep in my pockets not a lousy penny.

The moral of the story: Don't nobody know you when you're down and out.

Rudolph Eason was never down and out, but if you were around him for any length of time, you would be treated to a recitation of that poem and others he had memorized, all with lessons.

When he reached 100, he lunched with Mayor Nutter and other centenarians, and got a birthday card from President Obama.

"He was happy to say that he lived to see the first African-American president," his family said.

Rudy was honored by the Chapel of the Four Chaplains for his community service.

He is survived by two daughters, Doris McPherson and LaJoyce Ayers; a son, Rudolph Eason Jr.; 13 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; and eight great-great-grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. Monday at Calvary Baptist Church, 6122 Haverford Ave. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Fernwood Cemetery.