The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!

Thirteen years ago—when she was 65 years old—Barbara Pagano stumbled on a longevity website. She plugged in her basic health information, along with her family’s diseases and history, and pressed submit. What popped up on the screen was her proposed life expectancy. And that number was 98.6.

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!

“Change is good, and I was ready for something different,” says Joan Hornberger. After 38 years of living in Charlottesville, VA, she and her husband surprised friends when they packed up and moved to Nashville. 

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring humans over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of person I want to be when I grow up!

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!

In January, when Connie—Bubbles to all who know her—flips her calendar to 2023, she will begin another year of learning to do a new activity. Sixteen years ago, at 60, Bubbles created this fun challenge for herself. She isn’t yet sure what 2023’s project will be, but she’s already looking forward to it.  

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The Orchid Series

A collection of conversations featuring inspiring humans over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of person I want to be when I grow up!  

How did I know, when I said hello to Marty Pavelich at a Colorado workout center, this almost 95-year-old dynamo would turn out to be one of my favorite people stories? With his wisdom, crinkly smile, and gift for storytelling, Marty makes anything in life seem possible. Whenever I plop my coffee or water bottle into my car’s cup holder, I’ll think of Marty…

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!  

Assuming decent health and a side of good luck, what can we do to enhance our older years? How do we stay sharp so we can continue doing what we love to do? I’ve talked with some remarkable women, and their common denominator—their secret sauce—is curiosity. In their 70s, 80s, and 90s, these women maintain a zest for life and all that surrounds them.

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!  

As tough as the preteen and early teen years are to navigate, can you imagine spending the entire workday with dozens of middle-school-aged kids? And, often, their parents?

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!  

At 82, Sandell Morse skis down snowy mountains, hikes rugged trails, and hops on planes to explore new cities. Married more than sixty years, she and her husband used to be partners in those adventures. But not anymore. “He and I began to age very differently,” says Sandell.

And so, to accommodate both of their lifestyles, they reside in separate homes.

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!  

Not long ago, Betty Nelson received test results from a physician. For a person this age, all looks fine, she read. Furious, Betty phoned the doctor’s office and scheduled an appointment to see him. 

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up! 

From the time she was a small girl, Sue loved to dance. A few decades ago, she and her husband took ballroom dancing lessons “for something fun to do together.” Little did she know life was about to hand her a heart-wrenching surprise.

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!

“God calls you lots of times, and you don’t pick up the phone,” says Jan.

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!

Continue reading…

The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!

Many of the women I speak with for The Orchid Series live alone. It’s a sobering thought, but statistics show most of us will outlive our husbands or partners by 5-7 years. Not a pleasant point to ponder…

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The Orchid Series

A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!

“The pandemic? It didn’t bother me,” says Rosie as we chatted over the phone one snowy April morning.

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