The Best Years 2011

Life-long volunteer ■

Mae Marie Blackmore says volunteering has always been a part of her life

By Ann Bailey

Herald Staff Writer

Twenty-one years after she retired, Mae Marie Blackmore’s appointment book remains full.

Since her 1990 retirement from her job as UND Children’s Center director, Blackmore has increased her volunteer work load.

“I’ve been a volunteer all my life,” she said. “I grew up in a family who did that. Her family, who lived in Emerado, N.D., volunteered for church, 4H and “anything you’d do in a small town,” Blackmore said.

She long has been active in the Republican Party in Grand Forks and is a charter member of the Greater Grand Forks Women’s Network. She also is a member

of the PEO Sisterhood and was a Cub Scout leader when her sons were in Scouts.

“I was the best father in the Boy Scout troop,” Blackmore said, with a smile. A single mother to four young children after her husband was killed in an airplane accident in 1957, she balanced her volunteer work with the Cub Scouts and other organizations with raising a family and her job at the UND nursing school.

“My whole life, from ’59 to ’90 was really loaded with early childhood” programs, she said.

“When you retire, you have to find something that you love.”

Labor of love

For Blackmore, that’s

volunteer work. She especially enjoys volunteering for fine arts organizations.

“The arts are my favorite,” she said. “If it’s connected with the fine arts and they call me, I say, ‘Sure.’”

“I go to plays. I’m especially interested in the music part. …I work with the (UND) music program at the Museum of Art,” she said. She also enjoys attending Grand Forks Symphony concerts and working on the music selection committee at her church.

Besides her volunteer work with fine arts, Blackmore also enjoys the time she spends at Altru Health System arranging and delivering donated flowers to patients.

“I volunteer at the hospi-

Ann Bailey, photo

Since her 1990 retirement from her job as UND Children’s Center director, Blackmore has increased her volunteer work load. tal one morning a week. I have the perfect job. It’s just a spot of brightness.”

Between her volunteer

work and visiting friends, Blackmore doesn’t have much time to spend sitting at home.

“I didn’t know any of these people before coming. It helps you to socialize.

We enjoy each other.We’re very diverse in our thoughts and ideas, but we get along.”

Outlanders ■

Paulette Roseno Outlander

Submitted photo

The YMCA Outlanders on a recent outing.

YMCA Family Center group has fun thinking outside the box

By Ann Bailey

Herald Staff Writer

The Outlanders just want to have fun.

The YMCA Family Center group, which is made up of about 10 to 15 men and women ages 45 to 96, gather several times a month to visit, work on charitable projects or go on outings.

The group, which was formed about 10 years ago, calls itself the Outlanders because they wanted to go outside the box and try something new, said Roxee Jones, a YMCA Family Center activities coordinator who

works with the Outlanders group.

“Everybody’s welcome and we just have fun together,” Jones said. “Some of them are having coffee five days a week,” she said.

Jones, who founded the group, brought the idea for the Outlanders with her when she moved to Grand Forks from Winnipeg, which had a similar group at its YMCA. She modeled the Grand Forks group after the Winnipeg group, but added a few extras.

“We took it a step further,” she said.

Instead of meeting in a room, like the

Winnipeg group does, the Grand Forks groups goes on field trips.

Activities

Past outings have included touring the Ronald Reagan Minuteman missile silo near Cooperstown, N.D., attending a play at Frostfire Theater near Walhalla, N.D., and to visit a North Dakota winery. During the outings, members eat lunch together at a local café.

“In the winter, we try to stick close YMCA: See Page 2

“I don’t think there’s a day that I don’t go out for some reason,” she said.

Ann Bailey, photo

A special gift

Helen Robinson began making afghans, using Swedish weaving designs, about 10 years ago.

Robinson’s reward for making the afghans is the reaction that she receives from her family members when she gives them one ■

By Ann Bailey

Herald Staff Writer

Helen Robinson can’t put a price on her afghans. Neither can her family.

“To me it’s something that comes from her heart,” said Jacque Brockling, one of Robinson’s daughters. Despite a health condition that makes it difficult for Robinson to stitch, she has made afghans for each of her children and is now making them for her grandchildren.

“It’s an act of love…. It’s a special gift, they’re all so different and unique,” Brockling said.

Brockling is one of 10 family members who are the proud recipients of Robinson’s afghans. Robinson began making afghans, using Swedish weaving designs, about 10 years ago. Swedish weaving, originally used to decorate plain, white linens such as pillow

AFGHANS: See Page 2

2 Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, March 6, 2011

Delayed retirement credits will increase SSA retirement amount

By Howard Kossover Special to the Herald

A participant at one of my seminars asked about delayed retirement credits so I’ll address it in this column.

Starting your Social Security retirement at 62, or at any age younger than your full retirement age results in a permanently reduced benefit. On the flip side, delayed retirement credits increase your SSA retirement amount if you choose to delay starting benefits until after full retirement age. If born from 1943 to 1954, your full retirement age is 66.

DRC increases are based on the number of months you do not receive benefits between your FRA and age 70. There is no additional benefit increase after you reach age 70, even if you continue to delay taking benefits. For people born in 1943 or later, the yearly rate of DRC benefit increase is approximately 8 percent or two-thirds of 1 percent per month.

Benefits

Over time, this increase can be significant. For example, assume your full retirement age is 66 and your unreduced monthly benefit starting then is $1,000.

Deferring benefits until age 70 would increase your monthly amount to $1,320 because of delayed retirement credits, about 32 percent more than the monthly amount if starting at FRA. This higher benefit continues for as long as

Kossover

you live and could increase potential survivor benefits to your widow or widower.

While some people choose to defer benefits and earn DRC’s, this option of waiting to start SSA retirement until some point past your full retirement age is not the choice of most people. This is especially true because annual earning test restrictions end with the month you reach full retirement age.

From then on, you can receive all of your SSA retirement benefits with no limit on your earnings.

Annual earnings test

The annual earnings test concerns how your own gross wages or net self-employment in a year might affect any SSA retirement payable in that year. A special monthly test is available for one year, usually the first year of retirement.

The full calendar year earnings test amounts for 2011 are unchanged from 2010 and remain as: ■ If under your FRA for the entire calendar year,

$1 in benefits are deducted for each $2 earned above the 2011 limit of $14,160.

■ If you reach FRA in 2011, $1 in benefits are deducted from each $3 earned above the 2011 limit of $37,680, but only for earnings before the month you reach FRA. ■ No earnings limit exists starting with the month you reach FRA.

Information

Visit the online SSA retirement planner at

www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/index.htm for more

about full retirement age, delayed retirement credits and the earnings test.

Information: Visit the SSA website at www.socialsecurity.gov for online services, retirement planning tools and applications for retirement or Medicare.

Phone the SSA national toll-free number, (800) 7721213 (TTY (800) 325-0778), from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. about your existing benefits or to make an appointment.

Phone the Grand Forks office directly at (888) 6170456 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Howard I. Kossover is the Social Security Public Affairs Specialist for North Dakota and western Minnesota. Based in Grand Forks, he works with organizations, government agencies and businesses on all SSA topics including SSA business services online and teaching pre-retirement seminars. Contact him at howard.kossover@ssa.gov.

More than four in 10 seniors report lower social security checks Features Staff Reports

increasing Medicare premiums in most years. But in 2010 and in 2011, inflation was too low to pay the annual COLA, even though Medicare premiums, particularly for Part D and Medicare Advantage plans, continued to climb. The survey also found that even though inflation as the government measures it remained low, seniors experienced big jumps in their overall costs. More than 60 percent reported that their monthly expenses grew at least $80 over the past year. The trend of shrinking Social Security payments while expenses climb appear likely to continue into next year, warns TSCL Chairman Larry Hyland. “The Congressional Budget Office recently said that inflation will remain extremely low in 2012 with a forecast of just a 1.1 percent COLA,” he notes.

TSCL’s survey findings come on the heels of two recent fiscal commission proposals to cut the rate of growth in annual COLAs, and to make seniors pay more for their Medicare benefits, in order to reduce the U.S. budget deficit. “The survey illustrates exactly the type of financial impact those two

proposals would have on seniors and future retirees,” says Hyland. “Outof-pocket medical costs are chipping away at Social Security benefits, even in the best of years,” he points out. “When there is no COLA, or an extremely low one, any unexpected jump in Medicare spending and premium costs will require an ever-growing share of the Social Security payments,” Hyland observes.

Almost 70 percent of today’s beneficiaries rely on Social Security for at least 50 percent of their income.

to town,” Jones said. This month, the Outlanders are touring the Northlands Rescue Mission in Grand Forks. Members plan to donate boxes of cake mixes to the mission so residents can have cake on their birthdays.

Other charitable work the Outlanders undertake include making blankets for hospice patients, holding bake sale fundraisers to raise money to buy aquatic equipment for the YMCA Family Center and other YMCA classes for seniors. Members also chip in to buy flowers for a gift for members who are ill, Jones said.

Each month, the Outlanders host a speaker at its monthly birthday morning coffee. The speakers’ topics have included serious issues such as elder abuse and legal issues that affect seniors. Speakers also address lighter topics such as gardening.

“We talk about anything and everything,” Jones said. “We just cover whatever topics come up.”

Fun

However, speakers are discouraged from “preaching” about health issues to members.

“So many times people will take seniors and patronize them and check their cholesterol levels,” Jones said. “When you’re 75 years old, you already know if we have high cholesterol. We don’t need people to come in and tell us we should eat fruits and vegetables… because we know that. We’re not looking necessarily to live longer. We’re just looking to live a good quality of life.”

For many of the Outlanders, the friendships made with other group members are one of the most important ways being in the group has improved their quality of life.

Paulette Roseno, an Outlanders member from East Grand Forks has widened her circle of friends through her membership in the Outlanders.

“I didn’t know any of these people before coming. It helps you to socialize. We enjoy each other.

We’re very diverse in our thoughts and ideas, but we get along.”

Jones has a knack for organizing fun activities, said Outlanders member Lorna Martin. “Roxee is responsible for all the good things we do.”

Rick Asche, LUTCF 1521 24th Ave. South Grand Forks, ND 58201 Office 701-772-1138 Cell 701-739-4938

Submitted photo

Mary Jane Halvorson (left) and Ardelle Sickel cut out material to make a blanket for Hospice patients.

AFGHANS/

Continued from Page 1

cases, now also is used on items from pillowcases to afghans.

Robinson, 79, learned how to do the needlework several years ago. She took on the new craft despite being cautioned by other women hat it would be extremely difficult for her to do. Doing work that requires small motor skills is especially challenging to Robinson, Brockling said.

“They said, ‘You would never be able to do this, Helen.’ She’s not only done one but done them for every grandchild that’s come along,” Brockling said.

A natural

Robinson, an accomplished seamstress who sewed prom dresses and wedding dresses for her daughter, was undaunted by taking up a new sewing challenge. Brockling was not surprised by her mother’s resolve. She recalls that years ago she took her mom to three different stores to show her the kind of wedding dress she wanted.

“I said, ‘I want the bodice off of this. I want the sleeves off of this one. I want the train off of this one.’” Her mother obliged and sewed her a wedding dress that combined the elements of all three.

Robinson didn’t enroll

in a class, take lessons or read a book to learn the Swedish weaving technique she uses.

“I just picked that up on my own… It’s easy to do, once you get started,” she said.

One of the reasons she decided to try her hand at afghans was because the materials she uses are easy to transport, Robinson said.

“Quilting, you can’t take your sewing machine with you. You can take your (afghan) material with you,” she said.

Labor of love

She made the first one for Brockling about five years ago and has made nine more for other family members since then. The afghans take from three to five months to complete, depending on their sizes.

Sizes vary from 6 feet by 6 feet to 12 feet by 15 feet.

Her afghans, which she makes in the colors chosen by the recipients, are in high demand and leave little time for watching television.

“I just make one, right after another.” However, Robinson makes them only for family members and does not sell any.

“You couldn’t put a price tag on them,” she said.

Robinson’s reward for making the afghans is the reaction that she receives from her family members when she gives them one.

“They’re all thrilled with the finished project.”

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Forty-four percent of seniors report they are receiving lower Social Security checks compared to 2010 — even while dealing with significantly higher expenses. The findings are part of the annual 2011 Senior Survey just released by The Senior Citizens League, one of the nation’s largest nonpartisan senior citizen advocacy groups. Of the seniors reporting lower Social Security checks, about one quarter say their monthly benefit was reduced by more than $50 in 2011.

The lower Social Security checks this year reflect to a large extent the effect of rising Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage premiums that are automatically deducted from benefits. Because Social Security recipients received no annual cost-ofliving adjustment in 2011, any increase in the Medicare premiums that are automatically deducted from their Social Security reduced the amount of their monthly payments.

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YMCA/

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Wealthy boomers’ retirement outlook? Rosy

By Andrea Coombes

tute.

The economic crisis did hit some wealthy boomers’ retirement outlook: 27 percent said they did not retire at the age they had planned to when they were in their 40s, and 34 percent of that group said it was because the recession took a toll on their finances, according to the Merrill survey.

Another 23 percent of that subgroup said they delayed retirement because they had to provide more financial support to their children than they’d expected.

And 23 percent said they decided to keep working.

MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO — While many Americans’ retirement looks bleak because they don’t have enough money saved, a majority of wealthy baby boomers in a new survey say their standard of living in retirement will top that of their parents.

Eighty-four percent of high-net-worth boomers, age 46 to 64, said their retirement will differ from their parents. Of that group, 86 percent said they plan to be more active, and 72 percent said their standard of living will be higher, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of 1,000 people with investable assets of $250,000 or more.

Seventy percent of these boomers said they’ll work in retirement, at least part time, “to remain more active and engaged”; 26 percent said they’ll go back to school, 24 percent said they plan to learn a new trade, and 20 percent said they’ll start or keep running their own business.

Late comers

Twenty-one percent of the group that delayed retirement said they did so because they “didn’t realize how much I would need to save for retirement,” and 18 percent said they started saving too late or didn’t save enough.

When asked about their financial worries, 64 percent of the broader survey group said rising health care costs were a top concern, and 57 percent are worried about whether their retirement assets will last through their lifetime.

What was these wealthy boomers’ No. 1 piece of advice, relative to saving and investing, for their 30-year-old selves? Thirty-four percent said to work with a financial adviser or to work with one earlier.

According to 27 percent, it’s to be more hands-on with their investment portfolio, including adjusting their asset allocation. Nineteen percent advised planning for long-term expenses such as college tuition, health care and caring for aging parents, and 14 percent said their top advice would be to manage debt better.

And they said they encountered some surprises as they neared retirement: 48 percent of affluent boomers said that knowing how they want to live in retirement was more important than they’d realized it would be. Fifty-two percent said knowing how to manage retirement income was more important than they’d expected.

Seventy-eight percent of those surveyed said younger people should start planning for retirement no later than their 30s, and 57 percent said that planning process should start when people are in their 20s.

‘Freedom’

When asked what word they’d use to describe retirement, 35 percent said “freedom,” 31 percent said “opportunity,” and 21 percent said “relaxation.” Just 9 percent said “uncertainty,” according to the Merrill Lynch survey.

Still, while these wealthy boomers may be optimistic about their own retirement, other research suggests they’re worried about their children’s future, said Andy Sieg, head of retirement services for Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“One dichotomy is that when you ask people the question — how does their standard of living compare to their parents in retirement — they tend to give you a very positive readout,” he said. “When you ask them what the future looks like for their children ... in terms of the next generation being better off, you tend to see more pessimism than we have in the past.”

A separate survey last year of savers of all incomes and age levels found that about half of people are either “not too” or “not at all” confident they will have enough money saved for a comfortable retirement. That’s according to the 2010 retirement confidence survey by the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Insti-

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Is it time to make the move to independent retirement living?

Grand Fork Herald/Sunday, March 6, 2011

3

MetroCreative

When 72-year-old Army veteran Ted Eickhoff was at his local VA hospital for an appointment recently, he struck up a conversation with another patient about selling his home and downsizing. As luck would have it, Eickhoff’s fellow patient lived in a local independent retirement community owned by Holiday Retirement, and raved about the benefits. Eickhoff was sold.

“I couldn’t believe how much you get for the money,” said Eickhoff. “It is so nice to have everything taken care of with just one monthly payment.

It covers everything I need, including amazing meals.

And if you need another snack, the chefs just make it for you!”

Eickhoff, a retired Command Sergeant Major, is part of a growing number of seniors who are planning for an independent living future.

In fact, a recent AARP poll found that nearly 60 percent of Boomers say they are concerned about living independently, and more than 50 percent say they have begun to think about how they would pay for independent living assistance as they get older.

Crunching the numbers

Mereen Klein, 86, started looking at the costs of keeping her own apartment versus independent living when her eyesight declined. Klein needed assistance with transportation and didn’t want to keep bugging her son to drive her around, so she decided to move to an independent retirement living community that met her needs.

“It was right for me with my fixed income, and the money covers everything,” said Klein. “I don’t pay for TV, or to have my room cleaned. I couldn’t believe what I got for the money —

MetroCreative

A recent AARP poll found that nearly 60 percent of Boomers say they are concerned about living independently, and more than 50 percent say they have begun to think about how they would pay for independent living assistance as they get older. it was really something.”

To determine what makes financial sense, seniors need to add up the true costs of managing a home versus being part of a retirement community.

“Even if you no longer have a mortgage payment, you still have fluctuating monthly expenses including utilities, taxes, phone, cable and food that can add up significantly,” said Stan Brown, COO of Holiday Retirement. “For many seniors, switching to a community that includes one manageable, monthly flat fee gives them the ability to plan out the next 15 to 20 years and know exactly what they can expect to spend and what they can afford.”

For Klein, it not only made financial sense, it also gave her back some of her freedom.

“I can take the community bus down to the bank or out to dinner. I can even go to the doctor and my appointments without bugging anyone for a ride,”

said Klein. “I have more independence now than when I lived alone.”

Ask the right questions

To calculate the true costs of making the move to an independent retirement community, Brown cautions seniors to ask as many questions as possible prior to moving in, to uncover any buy-in fees, to determine if a long-term lease is required and to see if the “feel” of the community is right.

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“It doesn’t make financial sense to make the move if you aren’t comfortable in the new community and will want to move out within a few months,” said Brown. “It needs to not only be affordable, but a great place to live as well.”

Seventy three-year-old Julianne (Judy) Kayatt knows this all too well. She sold her home and moved into a community that didn’t offer much for her money and wasn’t as caring as she’d hoped. After only MOVE: See Page 4

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Seniors are getting plugged in to technology 4 Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, March 6, 2011

By Troy Wolverton

San Jose Mercury News

SAN JOSE, Calif. — About 60 people recently filled the multi-use room at the Willow Glen Community Center in San Jose, Calif., for a discussion about Gmail, Google’s free e-mail service.

After an overview from Walt Cole, a computer instructor and retired IBM engineer, the attendees started firing questions.

One wanted to know how Gmail worked with Google Voice, the company’s Internet calling service. Another wanted to know if there was a way to sync Gmail with phone-based email programs. Yet another wanted to know how to move calendar entries from Microsoft’s Outlook program to Google.

The gathering was remarkable not because of the questions or the topic — this is Silicon Valley, after all, and technology is part of the very air we breathe. What made it remarkable was that nearly everyone in the room appeared to be older than 55, and many were much older than that.

When it comes to technology, many seniors are out of the loop. A much smaller proportion of older Americans use computers or the Internet than Americans in other age groups. But as the community center gathering indicated, seniors have begun to embrace technology.

Computer use among Americans 65 and older has doubled in the past 10 years, while Internet usage among that age group has more than tripled, according to the Pew Internet Project.

Just seven years ago, most volunteers on AARP California’s mailing list didn’t have an e-mail address, noted Christina Clem, a spokeswoman for the senior advocacy organization. Now the AARP has e-mail addresses for all but a few volunteers in the entire state.

McClatchy Tribune

Bill Denison, 79, from left, and Daisy Ung, 81, receive instruction from SeniorNet computer class instructor Jerry White at the Willow Glen Community and Senior Center in Willow Glen, Calif.

“The real trick is getting (seniors) over the initial hump...”Once they’re involved, they are as active or more active than other users.”

Aaron Smith a senior research specialist with Pew Internet

Closing the gap The digital divide “is not as big as it used to be,” Clem said.

Senior advocates and researchers say that’s partly because of the aging of baby boomers who have used computers for much of their working lives. But it’s also because of the pervasiveness of technology in American lives, as well as the desire of seniors to stay in touch with children and grandchildren who tend to communicate via the Internet.

“The real trick is getting them over the initial hump” of using computers, said Aaron Smith, a senior research specialist with Pew Internet. “Once

they’re involved, they are as active or more active than other users.”

The gathering at the community center was part of a years-long effort to help San Jose seniors get over that hump and keep up with the latest tech trends. It was sponsored by the local branch of SeniorNet, a national nonprofit group that offers technology courses to seniors. For more than 12 years, the SeniorNet center in Willow Glen has supplemented its classes with User Group, a monthly meeting that focuses on technology topics of interest to members.

In addition to Gmail, User Group has recently looked at computer security, Facebook and Win-

Bisphosphonates increase life span Features Staff Reports

People taking bisphosphonates to treat osteoporosis, the bone disease that leads to increased risk of fracture, are not only surviving well, they are gaining an extra five years of life, said Australian researchers in a study published recently.

First author and associate professor Jacqueline Center, and senior and profes-

dows 7. Upcoming topics include blogging, online tax preparation, Adobe Photoshop Elements and smartphones. Attendees tend to change from month to month depending on the topic, say the regulars.

“These are people who are interested in what’s going on,” said Miles Welter, a SeniorNet teacher and longtime User Group participant.

On the edge

Some in the group, like Helen Stolin, have worked in technology. She’s a retired software engineer who has attended the meetings off an on since 2002. She attended a session last year on Windows 7 because she didn’t have the software on her home computer and wanted to learn more about it.

“It’s nice to be on the edge of technology,” she said.

Others come to learn more about technology useful for hobbies they’ve nurtured since retiring.

Tom Barashas, 59, a pho-

tography enthusiast, mainly attends meetings that relate to digital photography. User Group “has been very informative in helping me decide what to purchase,” he said.

Still others use the group to acquaint themselves with websites or technology that they’ve heard about from family or friends, but don’t know how to use. That’s why Joyce Monda, 72, attended the meeting on Gmail.

“I was interested in switching,” she said, adding that after learning more at the User Group meeting, “I’m not sure I want to now.”

Learning about technology is not the only reason some attend the meetings.

Organizers and participants say they give seniors a chance to socialize. Indeed, some attend sessions “just to get out of the house,” said Welter, adding, “A lot of seniors just like to talk to other people.”

Roger Fong started the User Group in 1998 after becoming involved with SeniorNet two years earlier, after his retirement as a systems engineer at Lockheed. His aim was to supplement SeniorNet’s computer classes. User Group was patterned after similar meetings he had attended while at Lockheed, where technology vendors would come to get feedback on their products from actual users. The Willow Glen User Group has met monthly, with occasional breaks, since 1999.

“One of the problems with (SeniorNet) was after you take a class, what do you do next?” said Fong.

“How do you keep people interested? How do you keep up with the state of the art? I was hoping the User Group could be the answer.”

Phil Carnahan, one of founders of San Jose’s SeniorNet, said he’s pleased with how User Group has turned out.

“It’s a really neat thing for people,” he said.

MOVE/

Continued from Page 3

a few months, she started her search again and was fortunate to find that a Holiday Retirement community was a perfect fit for her.

“My family likes that I am happy here, and I like that I can still be independent and live here,” said Kayatt. “I am free to go where I want; I am enjoying activities and events and I’m surrounded by friends. I know I can be happy here for a long time.”

The golden years

Making the move to an independent living community can be an affordable way to make the most of one’s retirement years.

Kayatt, Klein and Eickhoff have all seen the benefits to cutting ties to a house or an apartment in favor of community living.

Klein was able to take advantage of a promotion from Holiday Retirement, which covered up to $1,000 of her moving expenses, and Kayatt received her birthday month free when she moved in.

And as for Eickhoff, the payoff for him is being surrounded by people his own age with shared experiences and a passion for living the good life.

“This is everything I ever thought about doing when I retired,” said Eickhoff.

“Sometimes people reminisce about the past being great, but I was fighting in the military for 22 years and working hard, and now these are my golden years.

I can actually relax and people take care of me for a change.”

For more information on making the move to independent retirement living, visit holidaytouch.com or call (800) 322-0999.

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A spouse dies, then soon, another: The widowhood effect

Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, March 6, 2011 5

By Anita Creamer

McClatchy Newspapers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — JD Conger told everyone he couldn’t live without his wife, Opal.

He took care of her as her dementia deepened and she slowly faded. But even during her last difficult year, they relied on each other: Frail as she was, she translated the world for him, making up for his failing eyes and ears.

When Opal Conger died at age 97 on the morning of Jan. 13, they’d been husband and wife for 81 years, partners in a marriage so enduring that they were the subjects of a Sacramentoo Bee story a year ago. While it’s left to younger, dreamier generations to describe long-married couples as the loves of each other’s lives, the Congers’ devotion was clearly an unbreakable bond.

And so JD followed Opal into death just after dawn not 48 hours after she died.

He was 101 and he was true to his word.

“He was not going to be here without her,” said the Congers’ granddaughter, Sue Seaters, 55, a Placer County, Calif., public health nurse. “He went to bed and didn’t get up.”

As Seaters sat by his bedside in his final hours, he twice lifted her hand to his face and held it to his cheek. Maybe he knew it

McClatchy Tribune

In this Dec. 28, 2009 file photograph, JD, left, and Opal Conger, seen just after their 80th anniversary, were finally parted when she died on Jan. 13. He died soon after in what has been documented as the “widowhood effect.” was his granddaughter — or maybe he thought it was his Opal.

Name

Researchers have a name for the increased probability of death among grieving mates within weeks or months of their spouses’ passing: the “widowhood effect.”

Among elderly couples, according to Harvard Uni-

versity sociologists, men are 22 percent more likely to die shortly after the death of a spouse, compared with 17 percent for women.

And a National Institute on Aging study found that race plays a part in the widowhood effect, with white partners aged 67 or older more likely than elderly African Americans to succumb early in bereavement.

Findings on the widowhood effect don’t come as news to medical professionals, who have observed similar patterns of increased mortality.

“We’ve all had experiences with this kind of thing,” said Trish Caputo, Sutter Auburn Faith Hospice bereavement coordinator and a registered nurse. “Often, it’s unrelated to any accident or cardiovascular incident,

but sometimes it is related.

That can be part of the stress reaction to grief.

“I’ve had at least three bereaved spouses who’ve fractured a hip within a week of their loved one’s death, one at the funeral of the spouse.”

Complicating the fog of grief is the fact that elderly caregiving spouses like JD Conger are at a 63 percent greater risk of death than older people not caring for their mates, according to American Medical Association research.

Traditional gender roles play a part in the widowhood effect, too: While women seek connection — a trait that serves them well after the death of a spouse — men’s drive for independence can leave them isolated and lonely, said Barbara Gillogly, a licensed marriage and family therapist and American River College’s gerontology department chair.

“It’s just the difference between men and women and how we’re socialized,” she said. “Connection helps us negotiate old age.

Independence does not do us well.”

With his wife’s death, she said, it’s possible that JD Conger lost his meaning in life.

“His job was done,” said Gillogly.

To the people who knew them in their last days, the timing of the Congers’ deaths is both sweet and

sad — not tragic, simply poignant.

“They were so attached to each other,” said Virginia Stone, marketing director at Carmichael Oaks Senior Living, where the Congers lived for the past few years.

“They kept each other going. It’s such a touching love story. One of the things JD said when she passed was, ‘How can I go on without her?’”

Ouzts got together for their Thursday morning spicand-span patrol.

Ouzts, 86, is a Riverbanks newcomer compared to Hines. She joined the zoo volunteer effort when she retired in the Columbia area in 1986. She had family in the area to keep her busy, but she was looking for another outlet for her energy.

“The most fascinating thing I’ve done here was walking the African cranes,” Ouzts said. “They had a new chick, and a big one picked on him. We’d have to take him out and walk him for 20 minutes.”

Opportunities like that draw volunteers to the zoo.

Riverbanks volunteer man-

ager Christie Vondrak said recruiting isn’t part of her job. People just call and ask how they can help. But most volunteers stick around only a year or two, until some change in life makes it difficult to routinely give up time.

More common are the teens looking to fulfill school volunteer requirements or groups that want to help with the big events, such as Boo at the Zoo or Lights Before Christmas.

“The new trend is different from these ladies,” Vondrak said. “They don’t stay around for 35 years. I don’t think we’ll ever see this sort of thing again.”

Hines and Ouzts weren’t

Eternal love

He once told his granddaughter that he’d live to 105 if Opal could find the strength to live to 100.

“They had each other, but their bodies were wearing out,” said Seaters.

After they died, she asked her father and her aunt if she could keep her grandparents’ wedding rings as a symbol of their lasting devotion. But Opal’s rings had slipped off her frail hand and seemed lost.

It turned out that someone — perhaps JD, a retired lumber mill supervisor — had the practicality to stash the rings in the dresser, safely knotted in the toe of a sock.

“It’s that love they had for each other,” said Seaters. “They were hardworking people. You didn’t see that love every day. But it was there.”

Until death parted them, and beyond.

After decades at zoo, volunteers keep on cleaning up

By Joey Holleman

McClatchy Newspapers

COLUMBIA, S.C. — They trundle through Riverbanks Zoo every Thursday morning, Jo Hines carrying a broom and pulling a small dolly loaded with cleaning supplies while Ruth Ouzts totes a longhandled squeegee and a litter picker-upper.

Most zoo visitors probably don’t notice the grayhaired volunteers, but they see the results of the duo’s work. They wash the dust and grime off the many informational signs, clean the windows on the some outdoors exhibits and pick up trash.

In by 8:30 a.m. and done with their loop around the zoo in less than two hours, Hines and Ouzts in many ways are typical of the nearly 150 volunteers that routinely help out at Riverbanks. But they stand out in some ways — especially

McClatchy Tribune

Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens volunteers, Ruth Ouzts, left, and Jo Hines clean a display window at the zoo in Columbia, S.C. Ouzts has been a volunteer at the zoo for 25 years and Hines for 35 years. They have been working together as a team since 2005. longevity.

Hines, who’d rather not reveal her age, began volunteering at Riverbanks a

month after the zoo opened in 1974.

“A friend of mine called and said ‘We’re going to

the zoo and learn all about it,’” Hines said.

Satch Krantz, then the zoo’s chief curator and now its executive director, taught the four women the ins and outs of the zoo, its exhibits and its animals.

Then he put them to work as volunteers.

“We did the schoolchildren tours for years,” Hines said. “I always had the second group and (a friend) had the first group. It didn’t matter what time I came through, it seemed all the animals were mating when we came through.

I asked (her friend) what she was doing up there ahead of us.”

Eventually, the zoo hired staffers to direct school groups, but new roles kept popping up for volunteers such as Hines. She especially enjoys helping keepers observe animal behavior. About a decade ago — they can’t recall exactly when — Hines and

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Beauty before age 6

Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, March 6, 2011

How did boomer retirement problem surprise us?

Three nonagenarian fashion mavens tell their secrets ■

By Jane Glenn Haas The Orange County Register

By Sara Glassman

Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

In our beauty-crazed culture, where wrinkle-free faces dominate magazine covers, runways and red carpets, beauty is youth and youth beauty. But women with an enduring sense of style know that true beauty is ageless. We talked to three nonagenarians, each of whom has honed her own brand of panache and established a signature style. And while these fashion mavens may not have discovered the fountain of youth, they have discovered how to look their best at any age.

Elsie Lorine Menser

Victoria, Minn., 94 ■ Family: One son, three grandchildren, one greatgrandchild and one Shih Tzu named Brittany.

■ Her style: Classic, with a twist. “I’ve always liked a little splash — a scarf or a pin or animal print.”

■ The outfit: Suit from Nordstrom, lace blouse from Dayton’s, handbag from her granddaughters and ostrich boa from her mother.

■ In her handbag: Lano Lip, mirror and Kleenex.

■ Makeup routine: A little Coty loose powder, which she’s used since high school, and eyebrow pencil. “I don’t wear lipstick anymore because it looks grotesque on some older ladies,” said Menser.

“Be natural — you look so much prettier.”

■ Must wear: Pearls.

“They’re pure.”

■ Don’t be afraid of: Heels. “I used to wear much higher heels. Your ankles look so much better in them.”

■ Wardrobe do: Capes.

“They hide a multitude of sins.”

■ Secrets to life: “Eat as naturally as you can, live as naturally as you can.

Moderation in all things.”

■ Role model: Her mother, who lived to be 101. “She taught me how to have good manners and how to love everyone.

There’s good in everyone and my mom always found the best.”

■ Easy aging: Embrace your birthday. “I don’t mind that I’m getting older — I’m getting wiser,” said Menser. “Your birthdays mean you’re alive and ready for whatever new thing comes next.”

Gert Weiner

St. Louis Park, Minn., 92 ■ Family: Five kids, 10 grandchildren.

■ Fashion philosophy: “It’s important that my outfits match and my house be straightened up. I’m not obsessive about it, but I’ve always been that way.”

■ Signature accessories: Colorful costume jewelry, earrings and a watch.

■ Hair routine: Styled once a week, every three weeks for color. “It’s important that I do as much as I can to keep myself as attractive as I can be,” said Weiner.

■ Makeup musts: “Foun-

Serving more than 133,000 everyday.

Just as milk builds healthy bones, reading builds healthy minds.

McClatchy Tribune

Women with an enduring sense of style know that true beauty is ageless. Here, Elsie Menser sports a suit from Nordstrom, lace blouse from Dayton’s, handbag from her granddaughters and ostrich boa from her mother. dation, a little eye shadow, rouge and lipstick and then I’m off and going,” Weiner said. “If I leave the house, I’m vain enough to try to look my best. I’ve never gone to the grocery store without makeup.”

■ Beauty secret: “Cheap is better. I’ve never used expensive makeup. I’ve been using the same CoverGirl blush for years.”

Can’t do without: Heels.

“I bought a pair of tennis shoes, and I’m still better off in a heel,” said Weiner.

“I’m more comfortable. I can’t wear a flat.”

■ Accentuate the positive: “I’ve always worn a lot of belts. I had a small waistline, so I showed it off.”

■ Modesty rules: “I don’t think I’ve felt beautiful,” she said. “I have felt good, but I keep it to myself.”

■ Best advice: Family comes first. “I have wonderful children and son-inlaws who treat me like a queen. They’re pretty terrific kids,” she said. “I have no complaints, believe me.”

ZOO/

Continued from Page 5 friends before they met at the zoo, and they don’t spend time with each other away from the zoo. But every Thursday morning, they’re a team. Ouzts handles the high spots with the squeegee, which has a rubber blade on one side and a shammy-covered blade

Grace Roepke

Shorewood, Minn., 93 ■ Family: Two kids, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

■ The outfit: Jones New York sweater and necklace and bracelet by Sequin New York.

Fashion philosophy: “We didn’t have very much when I was growing up, so I wasn’t able to purchase new clothes,” she said. “My mom was an excellent seamstress and would sew me the most beautiful clothes, including gloves.

She taught me that even if you don’t have much money, you can take pride in your appearance and choose to dress well.”

■ Signature accessory: “I love shoes.”

Makeup musts: Estee Lauder Projectionist High Definition Volume Mascara, Clinique High Impact Eye Shadow in neutral colors and Rouge Dior Lipstick. “I don’t let anyone see me without makeup.”

■ Best compliment: After showing up for a dinner in a St. John skirt and

on the other. Hines pulls out the liquid cleaner and paper towels to get the grime off the signs.

They don’t clean the insides of the exhibit windows. They aren’t responsible for the extensive windows in the Birdhouse, the Aquarium Reptile Complex or the gorilla house, but they have plenty to keep them busy. On nice days, they stretch out their “working”

jacket trimmed in gold, “a woman told me I looked like I had stepped out of Vogue magazine.”

■ Dress-up don’t: Blue jeans. “I do have jeans, but I just wear them around the house. I don’t think women my age should be wearing them out.”

■ Favorite indulgence: Pedicures and manicures once a month. “I do my nails myself in between,” she said. “I always look at people’s hands.”

■ Style Icon: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

■ All-time favorite store: The old Dayton’s Southdale. “It was so much fun walking in there.”

■ Best advice: “Keep busy, stay very social, stay as physically active as possible, travel, use your brain by playing bridge or reading and maintain a positive attitude,” she said.

“I entertain, cook, pay my own bills, play bridge, exercise and hit golf balls.

You look as good as you feel, so please do everything you can to feel wonderful.”

hours and hang out in whatever area seems most interesting that day.

“We just wander around and see what everybody’s doing,” Hines said.

On a cold, damp day like Thursday, they skedaddle home when their cleaning is done. But they plan to be back next Thursday and the next, for as long as there are dirty signs and windows to clean.

It’s all my fault. I’ve got a Medicare card, so I must be a Greedy Geezer.

Ah, but I’m not alone anymore. Now if you’re a Boomer, it’s your fault too.

The Boomers are pushing the nation to hell in a handbasket, according to economists adding up the loss of jobs plus the loss of retirement savings in the stock market meltdown.

From that set of negatives, they deduct the first of the Boomer wave reaching 65 and retch.

How can the nation’s economy survive the loss of boomer spending power while paying for the added cost of Social Security and Medicare, they ask?

Which leaves me wondering why nobody saw it coming. Like the Boomer tsunami was a surprise? Suddenly, an entire generation bursting the budget bubble?

Because we are not providing earning opportunities for these workers, the taxpayer stands to lose millions of dollars.

Why? Because somebody has to pay for their medical care and, in extreme cases, housing and food. Because those who don’t work don’t pay taxes. And when they reach the age to draw Social Security, they draw less — hence continuing to need extra public health benefits.

It all seems simple.

Start at step one and go forward.

Start with someone like Cherry from Orange, Calif. She worked for 22 years for a hospital system and planned to retire at 62, “so I could move to Humboldt County where the Redwoods make me feel at home.”

Instead, she was downsized. Yes, she got some severance. Yes, she drew one round of unemployment then turned 59 1/2 and started drawing on her retirement savings until she reached 62 and was eligible for Social Security.

She was looking for another job. At the same time, she had to spend more time with her mother and step-dad,

both of whom were having memory problems.

She saved the state thousands in caregiving costs until she had to put them in an institution because their care exceeded her capability.

In the middle of all this, she ran into one of the senior vice presidents of the company she used to work for.

She asked Cherry, “How are you enjoying retirement?” Cherry told her she hadn’t planned to retire at all.

Yes, there are those actually enjoying retirement.

Kay belongs to the “Partners in Chime” group at Anaheim Senior Center. “I go with our group to perform concerts in the community. Do you know what that means to a 65-yearold? To feel useful and to be able to entertain others?”

And then there’s Scott from Lake Havasu, Ariz.

He says his situation is “hopeless.”

“I’ve spent my own money trying to go back to school and get certified for helping seniors with end-of-life issues.

After I got the certification, I was supposed to buy ads and spend other dollars on marketing.

I’ve only got so much money.”

And so another Boomer turns to unemployment welfare checks.

I’m not a financial or political expert. But the situation seems obvious to me: Boomers need help now to remain financially independent in the future.

People don’t suddenly lose their skills when they blow out 50 candles on the birthday cake. .

Here we have a huge generation, almost 80 million people, reaching 50, 55, even 65, at the rate of seven per minute.

Current projections say these people will live to be 80 to 90 years old.

Please don’t tell me 50 is life’s peak. Boomers still have so much to contribute and give back to society.

Let’s make sure the social contract starts with employment before retirement. It just makes sense.

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