While old age can change the pace and pattern of one’s life, it doesn't have to stand in the way of doing incredible things.
For some seniors, in fact, it gave them just what they needed — in terms of time and opportunity to take on new challenges — to make the most of life.
Of course, it’s impossible to make a list of all incredible older adults — they’re everywhere.
As one measure, it’s estimated that between 2008 and 2010, 18.7 million seniors added an estimated $64 billion to the U.S. economy with a combined total of over 3 billion hours of service.
Nevertheless, we’ve put together a short list of five seniors whose stories can inspire people of any age.
Tao Porchon-Lynch, now 95, has held the record for the world’s oldest yoga instructor since 2012. Though it isn't a pursuit she picked up in her old age — she’s been practicing yoga since 1967 — Tao’s long career has enabled her to mint hundreds of new yoga instructors, providing training and certification at her Westchester Institute of Yoga since 1982.
In addition to her work in yoga, Tao has performed as an actor, a dancer, a documentarian, and many other things. In her old age, though, she has primarily become known for yoga, which she believes offers healing to individuals and the world.
Tatsuo Horiuchi, now in his early 70s, has become famous for his artwork in an unusual medium: Microsoft Excel.
He began creating artwork when he retired in his 60s, but came to fame when he won the Excel Autoshape Art Contest in 2006.
Though primarily known as a tool for compiling and manipulating tabular data, Excel appealed to Horiuchi with its extensive graphics functions, which, he found, exceeded those of Microsoft Paint or Microsoft Word. It was also pre-installed on the computer he purchased, saving him the expense of having to purchase expensive digital art software.
Since then, his work has been acquired by the Gunma Museum of Art in Tatebayashi. He continues to create digital art and sell it through a website today.
Flo Meiler is a grandmother and a great-grandmother several times over. Unlike many grandmothers, though she also holds some 15 world and 12 U.S. records in track and field.
Though Meiler initially joined the senior olympics as a tennis player, she decided to try the pole vault — an event known for its potential for injury — when she was already 65.
Among her titles, she is the world indoor record holder for women over 75 in the pole vault. She has also set records for the 60-meter hurdles, the 200-meter hurdles, the hammer throw, the discus, the steeplechase, and the 4 x 100 meter relay.
Her training schedule includes 5-6 days of practice a week, showing that it’s never too late to commit to something you love.
Betty White perhaps needs no introduction. Born in 1922, she became the Guinness World Record holder for female entertainer with the longest television career.
Primarily famous for her roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, White continues to perform today in Hot in Cleveland, a sitcom in its sixth season on TV Land.
In addition to this active career, White is an animal health activist, and has worked with a number of animal rights groups, such as the Morris Animal Foundation.
Anna Mary Robertson Moses — who came to be known as “Grandma Moses” — is no longer alive, but achieved great fame and success for the painting career she started when she was already in her 70s.
After giving up knitting, Moses started selling her paintings for $3 or $5 at county fairs. Some 70 years later, some of her work would end up selling for $1.2 million. Her paintings also went on to be featured on up on U.S. postage stamps and even in the White House.
Even today, Moses, who never received formal training, continues to hold a place among the masters of American folk art, and her landscapes of rural New York and Virginia hang in galleries as far away as Japan.
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