By Jack Rubinger
On December 14, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly designated October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons. Over the next three decades, the number of older persons worldwide is projected to more than double, reaching more than 1.5 billion persons in 2050, according to the United Nations.
A longer life brings with it opportunities, not only for older people and their families, but also for societies. Additional years provide the opportunity to pursue further education, new careers and passions. Older people also contribute in many ways to their families and communities.
The good news is that there are quite a few Portland older persons who are both vital and vigorous with stories that are inspirational and motivational.
Take Liz Dally, for example, the former owner of Hawthorne Auto Clinic. Dally is very involved in Eastside Village, a virtual community for seniors that offers social activities and services for seniors with a fee for membership. One of their big themes is helping each other age well in their homes. “I think it’s important to generate awareness of older people in society and their contributions,” said Dally.
Dally, who retired two and a half years ago, wants to remind younger people to keep older people in their lives, starting with asking them about their experiences and their lives. “It’s easy for elders to become isolated, so I recommend calling grandma and asking about her life. You may be surprised by what you hear,” said Dally.
Others, like JoAnn Herrigel, praise Eastside Village for “making you feel like you just gave a gift when you volunteer.”
While people typically request rides to the grocery store and doctor appointments, there have been more unusual requests like helping someone put kitty litter into the trunk of a car because they have a bad back. What Herrigel likes best about working with seniors is that they’re so appreciative.
“People get tired of relying on friends and family, so it’s nice to provide services that can be transactional or long-term, based on your needs,” said Herrigel.
Derianna Mooney, an 81-year-old, who moved to Portland in 1998 from Texas, worked as a hospice nurse. She believes that the line between birth and death is a thin one. Mooney spends her time counseling families about helping people die naturally or with medication or by just stopping eating and drinking.
She believes in the joy of living and is grateful that we all have expiration dates, like packages of cheese. Her philosophy? “Don’t work too hard at delaying death, go out quickly.”
Mooney provides counsel based on the death with dignity law. She once taught at Linfield College and worked at Providence. She prefers taking care of people in their homes and she loves the greenery and tall trees of Portland.
Mooney even had a book dedicated to her, The Day I Die, written by Dr. Anita Hannig. Mooney, who lives in the Creston Kenilworth neighborhood has a housemate and keeps busy and active through volunteering and mentoring.
“One of the best things about being 81 years old is that you don’t have to filter yourself,” she said. “You can be candid, open and a little ornery.” She added, “Life is about how you spend your time, not how much money you make.”
Another resource for older Portlanders is AGE+, which was created to champion a new vision for successful and equitable aging for all Oregonians by empowering communities, linking generations and stimulating innovation to make longer life an opportunity, not a burden, especially for isolated and underserved older adults in rural areas.
AGE+ has a proven model and methodology to help communities develop a multi-generational, sustainable network of resources to support vulnerable older adults.
For over 60 years, Portlander Joe Hickerson has performed and lectured over a thousand times throughout the US and in Canada, Finland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. His repertoire includes a vast array of folksongs and allied forms in the English language, many with choruses. Pete Seeger has called him “a great song leader.” Hickerson calls himself a “vintage pre-plugged paleo-acoustic folksinger.” In 1960 he wrote the fourth and fifth verses of “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.”
While he’s not playing guitar anymore, he says his singing is better than ever and believes that he’ll be mellowing in his progress to full maturity. “If I live to 97 (I’ll turn 87 on October 20), I can state that statistics show that very few people die at that age. And I’ll still have a sense of humor,” he said.
Hickerson’s beau, Holocaust survivor and Portland resident Ruth Bolliger, 84 years old, met at Oberlin College in Ohio. The two spent the summer of 1957 traveling and teaching and performing folks music at summer camps.
They eventually parted, then re-engaged 47 years later at one of Hickerson’s shows. Bolliger has lived in Portland since 1975. She remembers when kids would walk by themselves to school. She also remembers when the homeless problems weren’t so bad and she feels sad about it. But she’s also scared to get too close. Still, she loves Portland and says, “I don’t know where on earth I’d rather live.”
There are likely thousands of fascinating older persons in our community. If there’s an independent living or assisted living community near you, find out how to volunteer by doing an activity. It could be something as simple as reading the newspaper or walking someone’s dog. Let’s give older persons a renewed respect, as we’ll all reach that special stage in our lives at some point in the future.
Photo by Peter Kindersley, Center for Ageing Better.
