Rochelle — For Joseph Marion, a farm-raised boy from New England, the road of life has carried him through every state in the country before bringing him to South Georgia to settle.

“My family operated a rural farm where we raised livestock and grew our own fresh vegetables,” he said. “It is nice to be back in that environment.”

Marion learned the value of hard work and a good education early in his life. Academics were important to him, but he also excelled in athletics. His earliest ambition to become a priest in the Catholic Church prompted him to spend his first two years of high school studying at the St. Thomas Seminary.

Somehow he decided the priesthood was not his calling in life, so he spent his junior and senior years at the Marianapolis Prep School in Thompson, CT. There he earned a place in the national honor society both years before graduating salutatorian of his class and earning a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania.

Marion landed a spot at the Wharton School of the university where he earned his B.A. in economics. While there he also served as steward for Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity and trained with one of the top rowing crews in the country.

He was still uncertain as to where his path in life was leading him. It was not until after graduation that a family tragedy involving his grandfather laid the ground work for his future.

“My grandfather, who suffered from diabetes, had to have his leg amputated,” he said. “Having that happen to him inspired me to enter the field of biochemistry. I wanted to break the chain of ignorance that caused things like that to happen.”

He began traveling cross country attending various health trade shows, gathering information on anything related to natural health.

“I believe that the main provisions for health in humans are the building blocks of the body — vitamins, minerals, and proteins.” he said.

Since then he has devoted over thirty years to the natural foods industry. He has studied, researched and organized information on purely natural health elements and techniques.

While living in Connecticut he founded the Sunrise Trading Company, a natural foods retail store and wholesale natural foods packer and distributor. Sunrise was responsible for making available a stock of 200 herbs and spices, nuts, dried fruit, grains, pure juices, concentrates, whole foods, body care products, vita-min-protein supplements, and nutritional information.

As the company grew, people began coming to Marion with all their questions, which earned him the nickname ‘Dr. Sunrise.’ Marion would reference one of the countless books he had on any subject dealing with natural health in order to assist his customers.

“One day it just came to me,” he said. “I figured instead of pouring over all these books to find what I needed, why not compile and organize the information into one book.”

So began a journey that would take him more than ten years to complete. The end result was “The Anti-Aging Manual, The Encyclopedia of Natural Health.” The book which is now in its third revised edition is considered a #1 health reference book.

The Anti-Aging Manual is the most complete publication of natural elements known to prevent ailments and stressful conditions.

“These things are created by God, we are just discovering them,” said Marion.

“Writing the book was a lot of fun. Suddenly I was attending the health trade shows as a vendor, not just a spectator.”

Marion’s book includes a 45 page table of contents and a 500 page index to aid readers in their specific searches.

The book is designed to boost one’s comprehension of the ability to maintain health and energy as well as to deal with emergencies and recover from more serious ailments.

It also details alternate healing techniques. Marion says he is  the first author to write about the new mineral discovery of Indium patented by George A.H. Bonadio who served as a consultant.

Bonadio, he said, is the discoverer, inventor, and patentee of the mineral which is said to be the missing link of the periodic table. He is currently working to help make the public aware of indium and the possible benefits it can have on one’s natural health.

“My book will never fully be finished,” Marion said. “New things are being discovered all the time. There is a fourth revised edition already on my computer and ready to go when the time comes. It is imperative to keep readers up to date on the latest discoveries.”

Tired of the hustle and bustle of the big city life in California, Marion and his wife Patricia relocated to Rochelle about four years ago. The couple say that they love the beautiful, pristine community rich in farmland so reminiscent of his youth.

“We love being here,” he said. “It is a little harder to maintain a vegetarian lifestyle like we did in California because there is not as much produce here.

“We are still pretty strict eaters, not taking in a lot of red meat. Sometimes Patricia may eat something and I might jokingly tell her, ‘I am not going to pay for your doctor bills if you eat that.’”

The Anti-Aging Manual: Encyclopedia of Natural Health is available at Barnes and Noble  and online at amazon.com.