Thrive by the active age

Thrive Awards

25 over 55

Donna Sweet, MD

Fran Kentling Award winner

Dr. Sweet is a longtime KU School of Medicine-Wichita physician and professor best known for her work with HIV patients. Growing up poor on a family farm north of Wichita, Sweet said she knew she wanted to be “something other than dependent on farming.” A scholarship helped her get into Wichita State University, and at KU, she became an internal medicine specialist around the time the HIV pandemic was starting. Sweet said taking care of those patients “was not the popular thing to do, but it turned out to be extremely rewarding.” Sweet, who also started a fund to help those patients with drugs, housing and other needs, has seen HIV go from being a death sentence to a manageable condition. “It’s really interesting right now to compare that pandemic to this pandemic,” Sweet said of COVID-19. “The similarity is the fear and the lack of science that sometimes goes into understanding this.” Sweet, 71, whose husband, George, died in 2017, has aged with a lot of her patients. Her advice to them is “make sure you keep the mind active because that’s the way to keep the synapses moving forward.” Exercise is key, too, she said. “Sometimes it hurts to get up and walk,” she said. But you have to “or you will soon not be able to walk at all.” And, of course, have some fun, even if it means a few calories. “I love to cook,” Sweet said. “I do pasta pretty well.” Sweet has no plans to retire. She wants to continue working with HIV patients and her patients from the general population. “I love all of them.”

Marilyn and Dean Wasser

After long careers in their respective fields, the Wassers now stay nearly as busy as volunteers. They’ve both been active with Senior Services of Wichita and its Meals on Wheels program. They help at the Lord’s Diner and volunteer at hospitals. Dean Wasser has been a longtime Wesley Medical Center volunteer, and Marilyn Wasser helps at Ascension Via Christi St. Teresa. “I choose to volunteer where I am working and busy,” Marilyn said. “If I am going to volunteer for anything and anyone, I want to be productive.” She’s also been involved with Dress For Success Wichita and the Assistance League, among other nonprofits. The Wassers also find time for bridge, watching sports, playing golf and traveling. The Panama Canal was Marilyn Wasser’s favorite spot. Dean said there’s still plenty of time left to help others, and it’s clear they have a lot of fun staying active together. “I just go where my wife tells me most generally,” Dean joked.

U.L. “Rip” Gooch

At 97, Gooch not only is still driving, he’s flying. The aviation enthusiast built his first career around flight, though he didn’t get to be a commercial pilot because the field was not open to black people at the time. So instead, he ran a fixed-base operation where he taught people to fly and rented and sold planes. He also became a licensed FAA examiner and certified a lot of Wichitans to fly. Gooch then became what his family believes to be the first black car salesman in the area. He went on to a political career on the Wichita City Council and then spent more than a decade in the Kansas Senate. Gooch volunteered in myriad ways, such as helping start the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Kansas. Gooch has written a book about his life: “Black Horizons: One Aviator’s Experience in the Post-Tuskegee Era,” which was made into a documentary. “My philosophy is keep living a life of enjoyment for yourself and spreading help to others,” Gooch said. “Do the most you can for this world as you pass through because you’re only passing through one time.”