Senior Citizens Proving the Value of Older Citizens

Editor's Note: One of the myths of aging is that senior citizens (65+) no longer contribute to society. Increasingly, however, we find seniors who continue to be outstanding in their career fields, starting new careers, making the world better or proving outstanding mental and physical fitness.

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Senior Citizen Stars

Dr. Michael DeBakey “is a magician of the heart…” and a Senior Star

March 13, 2008 – The following story appears in MedlinePlus Magazine. It features one of the all time Senior Stars – heart surgeon Michael DeBakey.

Perhaps no person has done more to advance the surgical treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels than Dr. Michael DeBakey. Read more...

Holocaust Survivor, Founder of American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge Turns 100

Margot Freudenberg is also longest serving volunteer in ACS history

Aug. 17, 2007 - Margot Freudenberg, a Holocaust survivor, founder of the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge movement, and the longest serving volunteer with the ACS was honored on August 9 with "A Tribute to Margot S. Freudenberg" in Charleston, South Carolina, to celebrate her 100th birthday. Proceeds from the event will establish the "Margot S. Freudenberg Endowment for the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge of the Coastal Community Foundation." Read more...

Senior Citizen Makes Solo Round-the-World Voyage Promoting Organ Transplants

First heart and kidney recipient to accomplish grueling feat

October 16, 2006 - But the intrepid Ardell Lien, a 71-year-old Minnesotan, never gave up on his dream to solo circumnavigate the world, which has earned him a place in history as the first heart and kidney recipient to accomplish this grueling feat. Read more...

Five $100,000 Prizes go to Older Americans for Finding New Ways to Meet Society's Greatest Challenges

Civic Ventures Presents awards for creative entrepreneurship by seniors

September 5, 2006 - Civic Ventures, a think tank and program incubator helping society achieve the greatest return on experience, today announced the five winners of its first-ever Purpose Prize, a major new initiative to invest in Americans over 60 who are leading a new age of social innovation. Each winner will receive $100,000, the first significant investment in this undiscovered force for the greater good. (Two prizes will be shared by pairs of co-winners.) Read more...

Senior Star

Horseman Completes Visits to 48 State Capitals at Age 70 to Help Children

Gene Glasscock to be greeted at Ohio capitol on Thursday

Nov. 24, 2005 - Long Rider Gene Glasscock at age 70 is about to complete a horseback journey of over 20,000 miles and three years in his quest to visit every state capital in the lower 48 states. He will arrive tomorrow at his last capital city – Columbus, Ohio. He is raising scholarship money for the children of Paraguay and sending a message to senior citizens. Read more...

Senior Star

Rosa Parks: US Civil Rights Icon Dies at Age 92

Spokesperson for civil rights as long as she was able

By Matthew Schneider, Voice of America

Oct. 25, 2005 - Rosa Parks, a seamstress from Montgomery, Alabama, who would not give up her bus seat to a white man in 1955, died Monday at the age of 92. Historians mark the date of her quiet-but-revolutionary act as the start of the modern civil rights movement in the United States. Read more...

Senior Star

Sen. Arlen Specter at 75 in Spotlight Again

Aug. 11, 2005 - When U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts goes before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearings next month, another man - a senior citizen - will also be on center stage, Republican Senator Arlen Specter, 75, the panel's chairman. Senator Specter is also at the center of another debate in Washington -- over embryonic stem cell research. It is a topic close to his heart as he battles late-stage Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a form of cancer. Amy Katz of the Voice of America takes a closer look at the man and his mission. Read more...

Senior Star

Record-Breaking Pilot is Senior Citizen With Slew of Records

Steve Fossett has records in many endeavors in air, on land and on sea

March 5, 2005 – The world knows about the record-breaking endurance flight by the GlobalFlyer that landed Thursday after the pilot became the first person to fly around the world alone without stopping or re-fueling. What many may not know is the pilot Steve Fossett, 60, is a senior citizen who has set a number of records in the air, on water and on land. He says, too, he has more on the way. Read more...

Senior Star

Will of 102-Year-Old Janitor, Dry Cleaner Leaves $2.3 Million to University

Nov. 16, 2004 – Genesio Morlacci died at 102 on Halloween, after spending most of his life in the dry cleaning business but his later years as a part-time janitor for the University of Great Falls, a private Catholic institution in Great Falls, Montana. It was announced yesterday he left $2.3 million to the university, the largest gift in the school’s history. More... 11/16/04*

Senior Star

Dr. Solomon Margolin, 82, Still Contributing Great Discoveries to Mankind

Oct. 25, 2004 - Most careers span about 45 years, and if you’re lucky, there are significant accomplishments to reflect on when you retire. Then there are the uncommon examples of people who continue to work past age 65, even though they have achieved what most people consider incredible accomplishments. Dr. Solomon Margolin is one of those people. More... 10/25/04*

Senior Star

Bill Anderson, 78, Completes Coast-to-Coast Bicycle Ride

Oct. 22, 2004 – Bill Anderson, the 78-year-old bicycler, yesterday completed his ride from San Diego, California, to Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and received a police escort as he completed the 3,000 miles trip and raised over $3,000 for the homeless. More... 10/22/04*

Senior Star

Mark Junge, 61-Year-Old Oxygen-Dependent Cyclist Completes Cross-Country Trek

Oct. 6, 2004 - Yesterday, 61-year-old Mark Junge capped off a 3,400-mile bicycle journey from San Francisco to New York City with a victory celebration in Times Square. What makes this accomplishment so amazing is that he suffers from blood clots in his lungs and needs oxygen 24 hours a day. More... 10/06/04*

Senior Stars - Martinez, Robinson

Two Creative Seniors Win $500,000 MacArthur Fellowships

Sept. 28, 2004, Chicago - Two 64-year-young seniors are among 23 new MacArthur Fellows for 2004, honored for their creativity, who will receive $500,000 in “no strings attached” support over the next five years. More... 9/28/04*

Senior Star

Dodo Cheney, 88, Wins International Tennis Tournament to Add to Legacy

Sept. 27, 2004 – Dodo Cheney, 88 years young, won the championship match of the women’s 85 and over bracket at the 24th International Tennis Federation World Seniors Tennis Championships. It was just another notch on the racket for the senior star that was greeted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July. More... 9/27/04*

New Senior Star

Bill Anderson, 78, Starts Quest to Bicycle Across Nation Both Directions

Sept. 15, 2004 – W.J. “Bill” Anderson, 78 years young, will jump on his bicycle and leave San Diego, California, on September 25 and head for Jacksonville Beach, Florida. His goal is to become the oldest person to ride a bike across the U.S. from north to south and west to east - and to raise money for Crossroads Mission in his hometown, Yuma, Arizona. He may actually be the only one to ever accomplish this fete at any age. More... 9/15/04*

New Senior Star

George Brunstad Conquers English Channel at 70

Uncle of Matt Damon does it to help children of Haiti

Aug. 30, 2004 - George Brunstad, who is the uncle of movie star Matt Damon, became the oldest person to swim the English Channel and raised at least $11,000 for an orphanage in Haiti at the same time. He completed the fete on Sunday after celebrating his 70^th birthday on Wednesday. More... 8/30/04*

74-Year-Young Nun's Heavenly Touch Builds Multimillion-Dollar Massage Empire

ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 25, 2004 - At 74, Sister Rosalind Gefre certainly has the magic touch. Her massage ministry, once considered controversial in the early 1980s, now boasts five professional schools and five clinics in Minnesota and North Dakota with total revenues expected to reach $3.1 million this year. Last year's revenues were $2.8 million, and that was up from $2.1 million in 2002. More... 8/25/04*

91-Year-Young Lucille Borgen Wins National Water Ski Title

Aug. 9, 2004 – Lucille Borgen of Babson Park, Florida, amazed the crowd at the 62 Annual Water Ski National Championships by winning the Women 10 slalom and tricks event on her 91st birthday. She is the oldest competitor to ever ski at the Nationals. More... 8/09/04*

Granny D Haddock, 94, Gets Help With Senate Campaign

Aug. 4, 2004 - Doris "Granny D" Haddock, 94 years young and great-grandmother of 16, received a big boost to her campaign to become a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire, when Joe Trippi – the former Howard Dean campaign manager – agreed to become the principal campaign strategist for the senior citizen. Trippi won acclaim for his use of the Internet to promote Dean and raise campaign funds. Haddock attracted national attention in 1998, when she walked across the country to promote campaign finance reform. More... 8/04/04*

A Senior Star

Edna Hibel Still Producing Great Art at 87

July 7, 2004 - At 87, Edna Hibel still paints regularly and maintains the quality of work that has made her one of America’s most noted artists. More... 7/07/04*

63-Year Old Becomes First Private Astronaut

By Tucker Sutherland, editor

June 22, 2004 - Mike Melvill, 63, was greeted by his four grandchildren as he landed SpaceShipOne after becoming the first private pilot to earn astronaut wings. It was the high mark so far for seniors in a month that has seen a 101-year old Frank Moody of Australia and 80-year old former President George H.W. Bush parachute from airplanes. More... 6/22/04*

Denver Seniors Give $60,000 for Children

Jan. 15, 2004 - Today in Denver, a group of older Metro Denver residents invested $60,000 in the future. Hope for Generations, a giving circle for local seniors, gave its first grants ever to nonprofits serving the community's youngest children. More... 1/15/04*

Nominate Senior Citizen Volunteers to be Honored

Dec. 11, 2003 - Volunteer programs and agencies across the country are invited to respond to a Call for Nominations in the 2004 MetLife Foundation Older Volunteers Enrich America Awards program. Administered by n4a, the awards will honor the contributions of 25 outstanding older volunteers and promote volunteering among older adults. More... 12/11/03*

Senior Citizens Raise Funds for 42 College Scholarships

Charlestown Residents Have Awarded 550 Scholarships

June 18, 2003 – Forty-two young people will be going to college with financial scholarships provided by Senior home residents, who have awarded 550 such college grants since 1988. Click 6/18/03*

Seniors Use Retirement to Create Useful School Tools

Jan. 30, 2003 - For a number of hours each day, a group of male residents at Brooksby, an active, independent, retirement community in Peabody, Massachusetts, are in the woodshop making a racket with electric saws, sanders and drills. But unless you ask them what they’re up to, these men don’t like to make a lot of noise about the importance of the work they’re doing. Click 1/30/03*