As he nears 100, Dick Van Dyke, 99, makes a touching confession about his life.

Those who remain curious stay young.
Those who choose gratitude stay young.
Those who lean toward joy despite hardship stay young.

This mindset is what allowed Van Dyke to reinvent himself again and again — from dancer to comedian, from TV star to movie icon, from performer to activist, mentor, and storyteller.

Even now, his mind remains active. He reads daily. He writes. He observes the world with the innocent, eager curiosity of a child inspecting something new. He insists that laughter — real, uninhibited laughter — is one of the most profound medicines available to the human spirit.

In his words:

“We are not required to lose joy just because our bodies age. Joy does not live in the knees or the hips. It lives in the heart.”

Living Through Grief: Losing a Generation of Loved Ones

Reaching 100 is a privilege. But Van Dyke acknowledges that longevity also carries a price.

He has lived through the loss of:

• his first wife,

• his lifelong partner Michelle Triola,

• many of his closest friends,

• nearly every co-star from the early days of his career,

• and countless peers who shaped American entertainment.

He writes not with bitterness, but with a quiet, honest sorrow — the kind that comes from understanding the fragility of life. He describes holidays that feel quieter, birthdays that feel emptier, and the painful experience of remembering jokes that no one is left to share with him.

But then, as he often does, he finds the light: “I have learned that the heart grows by loving. It does not shrink when love is lost. It expands because it has known connection.” For Van Dyke, grief is not a wall that stops you from living — it is a reminder of how deeply you loved, and how fortunate you were to have loved at all.

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