‘An unbelievable person’: WWII Navy veteran still standing guard at his Miami security job at age 99

A lot of people can t wait to retire but a South Florida man continues to stand guard at his job at the age of Tavares Jones shares his story in this Spotlight Five days a week between the hours of a m and p m Julius Woods is the gatekeeper at the entrance of Belle Meade Island in Miami Julius has kept an eye on countless cars coming and going during his almost years as a shield guard here Valeria Santeusanio resident I m so I was born and raised here and he s been here since day one I perpetually feel like he s a part of our family And last month dozens of people from his extended family Family caroling Happy birthday to you came out to celebrate Julius th birthday Commissioner Christine King presented him with a proclamation in his honor and a key to the city Julius Woods I love you all and I hope that I can still serve Luis Gonzalez resident He was the first ambassador to the island He has a big smile for everyone an unbelievable person human being Miami Commissioner Christine King He s fantastic His life is a story It s inspirational Julius reported us he doesn t quite know what to say to those who view him as an inspiration But he still had plenty to say when we sat down to talk with him We start with the obvious question Why does he keep working Julius Woods Well I work because I feel good at meeting people and I enjoy my job and I enjoy talking to people Sometimes they come and they sit down and they tell me the problems they have I m a good listener Julius still drives to and from work and if you re wondering what his secret to staying in such good shape is Julius says it is not his diet Julius Woods I can t say I eat properly because I eat everything under the sun But I never drank and I never smoked I guess that helped a lot Speaking of food Julius has special treats for the four-legged residents of the island Julius Woods I love my pups I don t own a pup Although Julius job is to keep residents safe they are very protective of him Julius Woods I think everybody on the island just about looks like they have my phone number If I m not there I get a call at least from four or five people Julius what s wrong You all right You need anything ' Ralph Humbertson has lived on the island for years and has a special bond with Julius Both are Navy veterans Ralph Humbertson resident And I just turned so you know he considers me the kid He served in World War II He s a hero He was involved in Iwo Jima where so plenty of people were killed His oldest son Julius Woods Jr was also in the Navy Julius Woods Jr He perpetually taught us you know just take care of family and everything Can you imagine at getting up at in the morning every morning He gets up goes to work and I go back to sleep I just hope I got his genes You know hey say he s gonna work till While this -year-old is retired his dad has no plans to turn in his uniform Julius Woods As long as I feel like I do I won t retire Julius message to all of us is this Julius Woods Consistently try to treat everyone like you want to be treated yourself A golden rule to cherish and guard Tavares Jones News While there are no official rankings Julius is likely the oldest working safeguard guard in Florida and possibly the country If there is anyone older we d like to hear about them so contact us If you know of a person place or group that you think we should highlight email us at spotlight wsvn com