In 1992 Carolynn Settle of Bluffton, Indiana started college. She graduated four years later with an associate degree in nursing. Today Carolynn is a Registered Nurse at a retirement community assessing patients with hip replacements and bypass surgeries for possible rehabilitation. A widow since 2002, Carolynn works three days a week, which is enough to support her and provide health benefits. She has worked at her profession for 13 years and has no plans to retire. Carolynn is 69.

A generation ago many people in their late 60s would never have considered pursuing new careers. Today’s seniors have more reasons to remain active than ever before.

Carolynn wanted to support herself financially. “I started nursing school at the urging of my daughter,” she says. “She kept telling me I would make a good nurse. When I told her I was too old, she said, ‘Mom, in four years you’ll be just as old with or without a degree.’”

Carolynn is an example of a senior who has prepared physically, mentally, and financially for the years ahead.

According to a 2008 article in Health magazine, one of the fastest growing age groups in America today is that of people over age 100.

More than 70,000 centenarians live in the U.S. today and their numbers are expected to grow to over 800,000 by 2050.

Though it is beyond the scope of this article to examine our nation’s ability to care for this rapidly growing segment of society, we can focus on the fact that seniors may have to choose various opportunities of living well through the end of their lives.

For some, it may mean continuing to earn an income. One woman in her 90s writes profiles for a local newspaper. Fast-food restaurants appreciate an older person’s work ethic. Small congregations sometimes seek seniors for part-time ministerial positions. I once interviewed a 73 year old whose associate minister was in his mid-20s. They were like a modern-day Timothy and Paul because of their special mentoring relationship.

Eating a variety of foods and exercising can help extend one’s quality of life.

Throughout much of her life, Daisy Cox, 93, has loved to walk. Despite having suffered a recent fall resulting in a broken pelvis, Daisy followed through with therapy and soon resumed her hour-long walks. Today she can be seen walking daily on her familiar route near her home.

A heart attack at age 65 alerted my father-in-law to the need to lose weight, eat right, and exercise. Twenty-five years later, he still pedals his stationery bike for 50 minutes several times a week while taking nutritional supplements and maintaining a rigid diet.

Other seniors carry lifelong hobbies with them into the senior years. Margaret Ringenberg fell in love with flying as a seven year old when a pilot took her family for a ride in his plane. After obtaining her private pilot’s license in 1941, Ringenberg was drafted into the U.S. Army as a Women’s Air Force Service Pilot (WASP). During the next year and a half, Ringenberg flew an air ferry for pilots and supplies in an assortment of aircraft. In December 1944 the Army decided WASPs were no longer needed and told them to return home. Back in the Midwest, Ringenberg married and had two children.

She continued to fly well into her senior years. In 1994 at age 72, Ringenberg participated in the first of two around-the-world aviation races. Her second around-the-world race from London to Sydney, Australia took place in 2001. She died in 2008 at age 86 while attending an air race.

Volunteer work offers many opportunities for fulfillment. Roger Myers, 83, served in the Army Air Corps during World War II as a bombardier. Later he worked for 44 years at the Fort Wayne (Indiana) International Airport. Today Myers is retired and volunteers as founder and curator of The Greater Fort Wayne Aviation Museum.

Be prepared. Some volunteer work provides surprises.

When retired veterinarian Dr. Roy Coolman prayed about what he should do to fill his time upon retiring in 2007, he felt God calling him to aid the efforts of Project Mercy, an organization that helps African refugees.

Officials at Project Mercy asked Coolman to help with a new project—dairy cattle breeding. The vet was taken aback.

“I had been a small animal surgeon for the last 20 years,” says Coolman. “It was out of my comfort zone to work with cows. However, I decided I didn’t need to be in a comfort zone. If the Lord opened a door for me to serve him, I’d walk through.”

On various trips to Ethiopia Coolman has helped Project Mercy cross-breed cows to increase milk production for a village. He has also vaccinated cows, researched the possibility of raising citrus fruit there, developed a water reservoir and pump system, and confirmed plans to start construction on a cattle barn.

Seniors don’t have to travel overseas to influence others. In the retirement community where she lives, Jane Hamilton, 81, finds a number of ways to serve.

Each morning when newspapers arrive, Jane walks throughout the building delivering them to subscribers. She also visits each dining room during breakfast to read verses from the Bible to residents. Jane plays Wii with residents, works as a volunteer at a charitable thift store, and attends church events. Last year she joined a group called Stitches of Hope, teaching herself to crochet to donate caps to people who lose hair from cancer.

My mother, Joan Brewer, is another member of Stitches of Hope. Although arthritis hinders her ability to walk, Mom, 80, attaches name tags to each cap, sends thank you notes to contributors, phones new members, and lends moral support. She also enjoys reading novels, meets friends for lunch, and attends church regularly.

Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and airline pilot Robert F. Weakley uses his newfound spare time as a jail chaplain volunteer. He also assists in helping a fellow chaplain teach a substance abuse class.

These senior servants demonstrate the kind of selfless service Paul wrote about:

One senior who inspired many people was Velma Smith. Velma, a deaf Christian, attended the Bluffton First Church of Christ. For many years Velma attended services without an interpreter. She could not greet the usher or anyone else on Sunday morning. She could not understand why people laughed during the sermon and could not hear special music.

When someone in the congregation learned sign language and interpreted sermons for Velma, she could finally understand the teaching and she attended church and Bible study for many years. Health problems, including emphysema and her life-long inability to hear, could have caused Velma’s personality to sour as she entered her senior years.

Yet each time I saw her, she had a smile on her face. When Velma died in 2008, she left behind a great example of how a senior who has endured hardship can end life well. Velma loved God, life, family, and friends. She determined not to let problems get in the way of life.

Carolynn, Roger, Velma, Roy, Margaret, Mom, and Jane show that seniors can enjoy their later years while serving as vital contributors to friends, family, and community. They have learned how to approach and solve problems and have met their challenges with confidence and enthusiasm.

What should you do if you’re approaching retirement? Ask God to guide you into an activity that fits your personality, physical abilities, and interests—and then pursue it. |L