At 99, tech-savvy Marianist uses computer three to four hours a day

Published: 2007-12-12

DAYTON, Ohio (CNS) -- "Maybe I should be reading more," mused Marianist Brother Francis Deibel. The 99-year-old brother may have a point. Each day he spends up to four hours at his computer exchanging e-mails with more than 100 contacts. "Lately I've been getting too many e-mails," added Brother Deibel, who thinks too many older people are afraid of technology and computers. "I try to open and read all of them, but sometimes they are too numerous." He begins his computer time by forwarding readings about the saint of the day. "I send this information to all my Marianist contacts," he said. He then spends hours answering personal e-mails and deleting junk e-mails. Brother Deibel has been a Marianist since 1926 -- one year before the first "talkie" feature film. "I began using a computer when it was just a bunch of wires put together," he said. He refined his skills in classes at the University of Dayton, where he worked for 48 years as a librarian.

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