Sitting on a couch watching television and drinking coffee isn't how 86-year-old Ella Young wants to spend the final years of her life.

She'd much rather spend her time making people smile.

Young is able to do just that as a volunteer at the United Service Organization's McChord Center, where she's been logging hours for nearly 25 years. The grandmother of four volunteered with her husband, George, until 2005 when he passed away. She continues to come in as much as she can.

"I couldn't think of anything different I wanted to do," said Young, who showed up April 2 at the USO to help see off Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers on a deployment. "I've never earned any money ... a lot of people would say I'm crazy. But this is what I like to do."

Young met her husband while he was stationed in Germany, and the two married in 1952. After being transferred back to the United States, the couple moved seven more times over the span of George's 22-year military career.

"I just wanted to give back to the military ... everyone was so nice to us in all of the places that we went," Young said.

Before volunteering at the USO, the couple volunteered for 17 years at Madigan Army Medical Center.

"The thing about Ella is her humbleness and her genuine love," said Tracye Kakely, McChord USO Center manager. "She so much loves the military. There are no ulterior motives. She is just there to give back."

The energetic Young - who cruises around town in a silver Audi A4 wagon - makes her rounds during busy deployment send-offs, striking up conversations with soldiers and handing out boxes of Girl Scout cookies. When spoken to in Young's German accent, soldiers often ask her where she's from.

"I say Puyallup, and that breaks the ice," Young said with a laugh.

Once the conversation gets going, the senior turns up the charm.

"They're sad ... it's a very hard time for them to leave their family," she said. "I like to make them smile."

And she'll likely keep doing it for as long as she can.

"This is my enjoyment," Young said. "When you do something like this, you do it with your heart."