Jim Layer

Jim Layer, singing opthamologist

Every day we hear how boomers are going to redefine retirement: They're never going to stop working, we're told; instead, they'll find fulfillment in work they love.

A new book by Morrie and Mel Helitzer gives a sneak peek into what this world without retirement will look like. It's Never Too Late to Plant a Tree: Your Guide to Never Retiring tells the stories of 65 men and women who already have made the transition.

The Helitzers, third cousins who share writing backgrounds, need look no further than themselves to find examples of retirement-age people who have "rejiggered" themselves. Both are in their 80s and still teach college writing courses: Mel at Ohio University and Morrie at St. John's University and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

Among the never-retireds featured in the book are:

  • Jim Layer, singing ophthalmologist. This 60-something-year-old retired eye doctor hadn't sung in public since he was in a grade school chorus, but 11 years ago, at a friend's house party, he sang a Frank Sinatra song accompanied by a karaoke machine. He's been singing publicly ever since - songs of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme.

  • Burrell Ross, baby cuddler. This former high school principal and college professor, in his 70s, volunteers at the Newborn ICU of Albuquerque New Mexico University Hospital. He cuddles newborn babies whose mothers can't hold them.

  • Terry Anderson, journalist and former hostage. The former AP correspondent who spent seven years as a hostage in Beirut now runs a blues bar in Athens, Ohio. He teaches at Ohio University, raises horses and cattle, owns two restaurants and a delicatessen, and has a food import business. But his heart is in the Blue Gator bar, where he sometimes sings. "I have a lousy voice," says Anderson. "But anyone can sing the blues."



The famous and the unknown

The concept for the book started with Mel, who wanted to write about famous people like Jimmy Carter, who, with his world peace efforts, has gone on to distinguish himself after his political career ended.

But Morrie wanted to include little-known people as well. And so the book is a blend of the two.

Morrie says they had no intention of writing another "how-to" book on retirement. Rather, they wanted to create a resource of the kinds of things people are doing, in the hope that these stories will inspire others to replicate the work elsewhere.

The book begins with a story of two presidents - Carter, whom everyone knows about - and Herbert Hoover, whose volunteer efforts to provide food to U.S. servicemen in World War I, to feed needy children in Poland during World War II, and to head up a 15-month commission to reorganize the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, are largely unknown today.

Then come the stories of mostly ordinary people, divided among the themes of community projects, creative arts and communication, education, entertainment, health, helping kids and more.

From bird carver to relief worker

Here is a look at more of the stories in It's Never Too Late.

  • Ora Anderson, 95, bird carver, conservancy owner. He's carved more than 3,000 wooden birds since retiring in 1973, and his works can be found in Japan, France and Hong Kong. But he makes no guarantees these days. "I'll carve the next bird next week, but that's about as far as I'm going to promise."

  • Frances Petit, age 94, of Saskatoon. This lifelong activist's latest cause was to clean up the drug and prostitution business in her own neighborhood by videotaping the "johns" as they drove by looking for services.

  • Elise Mitchell Sanford, 77, photography teacher for people with disabling mental illnesses. The former exhibiting artist turned her love for photography into therapy for people with mental illnesses. Students shoot a hundred 35mm frames per week during her courses, and then exhibit their work for a panel of judges.

  • Ed Artis, nonprofit relief organization. The 68-year-old former Army medic now wages peace, bringing food and relief supplies to troubled parts of the world, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Thailand, Rwanda and Kosovo. On many missions, members drive close to the front lines to reach isolated villages, putting their own lives at risk.


The lives of the 65 people in this book provide plenty of inspiration for anyone who is retired or thinking about retiring soon. As Ed Artis, the relief worker said: "We're not heroes. We're simply doing what's right. ... We'd rather do something, instead of sitting on our hands and complaining about what we see going on."

For a personally autographed copy of Morrie and Mel Helitzer's book, It's Never Too Late to Plant a Tree: Your Guide to Never Retiring send a check for $15.00 to:
Morrie Helitzer
72 Dubois Avenue
Sea Cliff, NY 11579.