Getting old is no big deal; the big deal is doing it with enthusiasm and style.
Even more important than health, the common denominators for successful retirement include a positive attitude, a sense of humor and the determination to keep on keepin’ on.
“Anyone who reaches the age of 80, even if they have been relatively active, has some kind of infirmity,” says Sef Torres, an 84-year-old jock. “But because they have been active, they can compensate.”
Wanda Walker, 78, can relate. Despite a medley of maladies that would have stymied less hearty souls, she’s managed to maintain a lifestyle that makes younger folks envious.
“Never say, ‘I can’t,'” she says. “Just find a way around it.”
Jean Wright-Elson, 72, has a plaque in her “adventure room,” next to keepsakes from her late-life exploits. It says: “The secret of staying young is to find an age you like and stick with it.”
But Wilbur “Pete” Peters, 78, likes to think, “You get so old, you keep going backward. My best years are ahead of me.”
Those who are profiled here started preparing themselves decades ago for life’s last great financial, physical and emotional challenges. And the best part is that these retirees say if they had a second chance, they would change very little about the way they’ve lived their lives.
Wanda Walker
Here comes great granny Wanda Walker in her fire-engine-red Mustang Cobra.
The 305-horsepower cost twice what she paid for her home 52 years ago. And after 10 years of auto-mechanic classes, she was able to do much of her own maintenance until health slowed her down — about a quarter of a step.
She continues to garden — rototilling, bending, stretching, pruning and hauling.
No small feat when you realize Walker’s late-life medical chart is thicker than the Mustang manual. Included are a mastectomy and blood clots at 60, stroke at 65, knee-replacement at 69, quadruple bypass at 73 and back surgery at 77.
“A positive attitude is 99 percent of the battle,” Walker says. So, the “retired” educator continues to sub in the schools and volunteers regularly at a senior resource center.
She also plays viola in a synagogue community orchestra. In order to continue, she opted for tendon surgery on her left thumb.
“I couldn’t get to the C string anymore.”
Her adopted son, Syd Walker, sums up his mom’s attitude: “She plays stud poker — not draw poker — in the game of life. She plays the cards she’s dealt.”
If she had it to do over: “I’d learn more patience sooner.”
Sef Torres
You might say that Sef Torres has covered all his bases — in and out of the ballpark.
A softball enthusiast since he was a kid and a triple-A softball team player in his 30s, he now plays with 55- and 80-plusers at least three times a week. His only concession to age was trading his position as catcher for right field. Catching, he says, is too hard on his knees and back.
The son of an American Indian mother and Hispanic father, Torres says, “I never felt estranged or discriminated against in those early times, because people liked me and accepted me because I was an athlete.”
Even so, he attended a “brown” school and sang in its choir until sixth grade, when he was transferred to a “white” school “because I could sing.”
Seven decades later, he concludes, “Older folks need to count the blessings in life and be happy with where they are now and the circumstances that took them there.”
If he had it to do over: “I’d be happy doing the same things I did and working with the same people.”
Wilbur “Pete” Peters
Working as a Wal-Mart greeter isn’t everyone’s vision of the ideal retirement. But Wilbur “Pete” Peters adores the 20-hour-a-week job. Some of his customers even call him Dad.
Before returning to work a few years ago, the former plumber and handyman admits, “I was bored; I watched movies on TV most of the day.
“Now, as soon as I hit the parking lot, my step picks up and a smile lights my face.”
Peters, who has severe arthritis, recently was promoted to garden center sales associate. Besides “being friendly,” his duties include watering plants and stacking potting soil.
“My best years are ahead of me,” he says. His theory about aging: “You get so old that you keep going backward. Now, I’m 17. You go back to infancy and then pass away.”
Jean Wright-Elson
When she hit the half-century mark, Jean Wright-Elson began marking each new year with at least one great adventure.
For her 50th birthday, she soared in a hot air balloon. She became a certified scuba diver at 54 and soloed as a glider pilot at 58. She celebrated her 60th birthday scuba diving in Tahiti, and kayaked in British Colombia at 71.
At 72, she went hang gliding in Southern California, rode an elephant in Thailand and snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef.
But, Wright-Elson says she might have topped herself. Armed with a cortisone shot, two knee braces, anti-inflammatories and plenty of adrenaline, she ran with the Olympic Torch through her hometown in 2002. Even more meaningful, she handed off the flame to her surrogate daughter, a symbol of “passing my wisdom and life experiences to the younger generation.”
Wright-Elson’s philosophy of aging is simple: “It’s inevitable that we will get older and die. I’m looking forward to that as my final great adventure.”