No Need for New Year Resolutions for These Senior
Citizens
Retirees no longer content playing shuffleboard,
these 80-somethings are re-inventing senior living altogether
By Colleen Wilson, ACTS Retirement-Life
Communities
Lou
Reymond still bouncing around like a tennis ball.
Feb. 9, 2009 - Today’s retirees live life
vigorously, and they have no plans of slowing down any time soon. From
weightlifting to tennis, tai chi to Nintendo Wii, super seniors from
ACTS Retirement-Life Communities have been featured as fitness role
models for today’s youth by dozens of newspapers, TV stations and even
The Tonight Show.
At 95, Lou Reymond is a giddy young man still in
love with life where he can be found three days a week on the tennis
court or dancing under the stars.
Never let it be said that Lou Reymond sits in a
recliner at his CCRC (continuing care retirement community) in Boca
Raton, FL and wastes the day away – he is a man bursting with exuberance
and action. A man who truly loves living and has no need for New Years
Resolutions.
The former art director for 30 plus years for Sears
& Roebuck, Reymond wants the world to know that retirement is a state of
mind.
“Nowadays people work 40 years in business or a
trade and live another 20 after retirement. What’s a guy to do with 20
years of sitting in a Lazy Boy watching the tube? Turn into mush, that’s
what’ll happen. There’s a whole wide world of living out there – kids
need to see the older generation having fun and enjoying life.”
Reymond has two fellow St. Andrews Estates
residents who may be a few years behind him in age, but they continue to
soar in their own right as well.
Still a Pilot at Age 85
Bill
Bottle still soaring at 85.
Bill Bottle flew his first solo at 19. He then went
on to serve in the U.S. Air Force during both WWII and the Korean War.
Bottle loved the action so much that today at 85, he still continues to
serve his country as a pilot for the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), where he
has completed more than 50 missions (missing boats/planes) and 5,000
hours.
In fact, Bottle can boast that he has flown on
every day (including holidays) in his 66 year flying career. He
recently completed his last jaunt out of Boca Raton, FL, on Friday,
February 13, 2009. No superstitions for this spitfire who still fits
into his military garb and wears it with pride.
Duane Webster loved the adrenaline rush he got when
he jumped tandem with his daughter and then solo last year. Webster, who
believes age is a figment of our imagination, has made a New Years
Resolution to jump from an airplane once more as a birthday gift to
himself (87 years in 2009)!
Webster admits he’s a ping pong junkie, thinking
nothing of playing a two hour stint a few times each week. His
competitive spirit has not diminished with age, rather, it’s as keen as
when he was a kid.
Certified Female Tai Chi Instructor at 88
Instead of working up a good sweat, 88 year old
Betty Rose swears by her secret fountain of youth – tai chi. She could
easily pass for a 60 year old as she peacefully smiles and sweeps her
arms in graceful and elegant movements.
Rose is the oldest certified female tai chi
instructor in South Florida, and while she’s only been practicing this
ancient Chinese art for the past 10 years, she has mastered the
movements in an amazing way.
After competing and teaching throughout Florida,
Rose has now “retired” and only teaches on a volunteer basis twice a
week to her fellow residents at Edgewater Pointe Estates. Betty’s New
Years Resolution is to participate in World Tai Chi Day with her Boca
group.
You may think that it’s the sunshine of South
Florida that keeps these residents out and about, but their counterparts
in Pennsylvania and North Ca
Betty Rose says she’s too old for
New Years Resolutions but never too old for tai chi.
rolina don’t let the weather stop them --
especially now with the Nintendo Wii.
At 100+ Takes up Wii Bowling
Betty Gibson who’s 102 years old at Tryon Estates
in Columbus, NC, loves to bowl with Nintendo Wii. It’s perfect exercise
for those who don’t have the stamina but still get a kick out of
competition.
“This is the most realistic kind of game I have
ever played in my life,” said Art Powell of Southampton Estates in Bucks
County, PA, as he swung the Wii wand.
“You have the same challenges you have in any
bowling alley.”
Southampton twins Barbara and Carol Preischl love
to box on the Wii. They plan to try a few new Wii sports in 2009.
Retirees are no longer content playing
shuffleboard, these 80-somethings are re-inventing senior living
altogether.
You’d be surprised what else they’re doing to stay
in shape -- everything from water volleyball to water walking and weight
training. They use personal trainers, love Mah Jongg, golden yoga, line
dancing, water aerobics, take toning classes and go treadmill walking
while listening to their Ipod. From moxie to muscles, brains to brawn,
these super seniors have it all and definitely don’t need New Years
Resolutions.
