Family adopts elderly 'angel'
BOISE, Idaho — It isn't Edgar Call's age that makes him unique, though it's certainly unusual.
No, family members say, there's a lot more to Edgar than being one of the country's oldest living men with Down syndrome.
"When you're looking at Edgar, you're looking at an angel," his "sister" Annika Rau said. "And the same could be said for my parents for what they've done for him."
Her parents, Van and Veanne Elg, took Edgar in on the advice of Van Elg's mother, then working at a group home where Edgar was living.
"She thought he'd be good for us," Veanne Elg said. "We weren't sure at the time. He was a complete stranger. But we met him and fell in love with him."
Edgar has been living with the Elgs for 17 years now. In August, he'll be 71.
"The Guinness Book of Records people have told us that to their knowledge, he's the oldest living male with Down syndrome," Van Elg said. "There's a woman who's older."
Down syndrome is a genetic condition caused by an extra chromosome. People with Down syndrome have delayed mental and social development — Edgar's mental age is 2 to 3 — and suffer from physical problems. Heart defects, leukemia and other factors can lead to early death.
At 70, Edgar has beaten the odds, living a long life that began in the eastern Idaho farming community of Bancroft. He lived with his parents and siblings there until he was 11, then was moved to the Idaho State School and Hospital in Nampa.
"His parents were quite elderly," Veanne Elg said. "They did the best they could for him, but it just became too difficult for them to care for him."
"Home" was a succession of group homes until the Elgs stepped in.
A neighbor, Tiffany Larson, said she is "continually touched they care for Edgar, who was a complete stranger to them, with such genuine love. Without them, he would have aged quietly in the group home where he lived and would have died alone. Perhaps he'd have gone years ago had he not been loved by this family."
Living with the Elgs was the first family home Edgar had known in more than 40 years, Larson said. Their decision to share it with him changed the lives of everyone.
"When people ask us who he is, we say he's our brother," Rau, 25, said.
Rau is the oldest of the Elgs' three daughters, who all grew up with Edgar. Now, they can't imagine life without him.
His sense of humor brightens their lives. Though his speech is limited, he likes to sing, dance and play practical jokes.
"If someone's down," Rau said, "he can sense it. He'll ask you if you're sad and dance to make you laugh."
" ... He's changed us. He didn't need to change." Having Edgar has "taught our kids to be more patient and tolerant of other people," Van Elg added.
