Ed Piepergerdes and his wife Pam have lived in Excelsior Springs for 51 years. Ed says that after he retired as a veterinarian he was feeling lonely and needed to find purpose in life beyond work and his relationships with clients. That’s when he bought his first four Jacobs sheep. He calls the heard, which has grown to more than 75 sheep, “a labor of love.” Ed believes that staying active and keeping busy is the key to longevity and his happiness absolutely depends on it. Ed, who has been diagnosed with an enlarged heart, learned that if it weren’t for his active lifestyle, he would have never made it to 76. When he was a young boy, he also had rheumatic fever, which he says almost killed him. He says he has made a promise to God that because his life was spared, he was going use his heart to its fullest capacity until the day he dies. When going on his long bike rides he says, “its when I spend my alone time with God.”