Don shares his story

Donald doesn’t buy the whole idea of retiring. He may be 72 but he doesn’t look it. “You know, normally when people see me physically when I tell them I’m 72 they have this shocked look on their face.”

That’s probably due partly to the fact Don watches his weight by eating only a couple of meals a day as part of his good health regimen. That and the fact he spends a fair amount of his time these days playing pickleball with his pals, a sport growing in popularity especially among older folks, mixing elements of badminton, ping pong and tennis on specially designed courts.

Or, just as likely, you might find him out on a golf course playing his other favorite game. Well, not just playing it, playing it in eye-catching style. He’d likely be dressed in a pair of those old-fashioned breeches called plus-fours that hang down to just below the knees, some loud argyle socks, and maybe a Tam o’ shanter on his head, all honoring the early days of golf. If you look again, you’d no doubt notice that he and the rest of his foursome are swinging genuine 19th century-era hickory shaft clubs and hitting a leather golf ball stuffed with feathers, dating way back to the 17th century.

Clearly, this is a guy who is having a good time in a life that doesn’t much resemble most conventional notions of retirement. He says, “I don’t think of retiring from something as much as retiring to something.” His passion for playing pickleball with his pals and playing golf with antique clubs, balls and duds are pretty good examples of his philosophy.

Don spent most of his professional career in leadership positions in higher education, including the presidency of a university and service on a technical college foundation. He stepped away from his full-time duties and began to work part-time as a vice president of a mortuary science college system.

On top of his career in high education there is another equally important facet of Don’s life, which is his record of service to his hometown of Windsor in the countryside of Wisconsin. He is currently serving as a Village Board Trustee, but has also served on the Town Board and other roles in small town government.

“You can have things happen to you or you can make things happen,” Don says. “I’m not one who sits by the wayside. It’s been fun to be involved of our little town, trying to make it keep evolving, being a local leader in that respect.”

Considering the long list of responsibilities that Don has taken on in his career, his service to his community, and his unique and imaginative ways he plays the games he loves, it is not surprising that he has also paid close attention to remaining mentally sharp.

“About 10 years ago over lunch with some friends, we got talking about our energy levels, our memory and just our mental sharpness,” he says. “Someone mentioned that they had tried Prevagen and was finding it helpful with their memory and general mental sharpness.”

He adds, “So I did try Prevagen, and I’ve been on it ever since. So I thank both those friends for introducing me to it. It’s been a good product for me.” Now he can turn his attention to keeping his eye on one of those feather-filled leather golf balls when he swings that stiff hickory shaft club at it in those argyle socks and plus-fours of his, a man who has always lived his life on his own terms.