Senior Moments

“Keep growing, keep Learning and have fun!”  That is  the advice from our guest Dawn Ignatius.  This episode of Senior Moments shares her story of entering into retirement after a rewarding career in nursing, and how it all evolved to her  learning to play the harp to then use as a way to  give back to her passion for the Alzheimer’s community.  

Dawn and her husband Jim live in Woodland Park, Colorado (oustide of Colorado Springs).  As you will learn she  is the incoming Governor for the Rocky Mountain District of Kiwanis International (a big deal), so she is a busy gal!  She also is teaching the ever popular Pickle Ball and keeps up her own game on a regular basis.  

Enjoy this fun interview with Dawn as I got to know her loving heart, her positive spirit and prepare to relax as she shares her new found musical talent on harp!  

Let Dawn’s story inspire you to learn something new and grow in a new way this year!  Share your story with us at [email protected]. 

If you like hearing the positive and would love to be a part of us continuing the journey collecting these great stories, consider a tax deductible contribution to show your support. Thanks. https://loveasenior.org/donate/

Welcome Ron Marlowe to Senior Moments from the state of Maine! He and his twin brother Jeffry began playing piano at the age of 4, performing under the name “The Marlowe Brothers”. 

The brothers were nationally acclaimed and by age 11 and debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Their adolescent resume included appearances on The Tonight Show with Steve Allen, The Milton Berle Show, The Arthur Godfrey Show, and The Gary Moore Show. Additionally, they were featured on the show “I’ve Got A Secret”. You can watch their show here: I've Got a Secret - December 19, 1966

The brothers went on to be the featured pianists with the New York Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony, The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. They played together professionally well into their 50’s.  

Ron’s wife Deborah Cook was the prolific international opera soprano who lost her battle to Alzheimers in April of 2019. Hear one of her amazing soprano songs here: Glass Shatterers! Deborah Cook - Strauss: ARIADNE, Zerbinetta's aria 1912 version, BBC High F-sharp

Recently Ron has participated in the Love A Senior Company's Love A Senior Day in Jacksonville, FL (2019 ) and Belleville, IL (2022). Here is a short clip of Ron playing at the event in Jacksonville, FL: https://youtube.com/shorts/eTFvzkZlmVU

Ron now gives piano lessons to young performers in Maine and Pennsylvania respectively, and fishes anywhere and everywhere. Sadly his twin brother Jeffry, passed away in 2021.

Our opening for Season 3, our host Carol Chiarito gets interviewed by her 11 year old granddaughter, Lexi Jean. An unscripted and fun insight to what grandchildren wonder about their grandparents, what they like to do and even this had a special surprise at the end of Lexi's favorite thing to do when she visits.

Hope you enjoy our opening to Season 3 about famous people, people who used to be famous, people who should be famous, and people who are famous in other's eyes!

Welcome Wm. Mark Worthington to Senior Moments!  

Mark was born in Toronto Ontario and raised his family in Kitchener-Waterloo Ontario. Mark’s career in telecommunications from Cable TV to wireless internet and eventually satellite TV has come full circle, entering into his retirement life in Markdale, Ontario Canada. Hear Mark’s story about “retiring” from the corporate world, moving to his present home in rural Ontario. 

You will love how he and our host met in a Florida State Park campground and listen as he shares his story of love of camping and how he and his wife, Hildi are spending their retirement, and how he is using his “work skills” to help seniors in the Markdale area.  

Maybe you will become inspired to do the same! Enjoy our first Canadian guest to the show!! 

Welcome Judy Miller, a Colorado transplant who retired from California. Listen as Judy shares her story of joining the Kiwanis Club of Redlands, CA as the first woman in California, after the organization’s vote to allow women to join! Judy has followed her passion of helping children through the Kiwanis organization for 40 years, striving for her 50 year goal! 

You will also hear a great little tidbit from Judy’s childhood regarding the emperor of Japan….who knew??!! Become inspired by Judy’s energy and appreciation for her involvement in the lives of children, especially now at the age of 80! 

Did you know it has been proven that people who volunteer are happier with themselves and their own work/life balance? There is no age limit for volunteering! Get involved in a civic or volunteer organization in your community. 

For more information about Kiwanis International, or to find a club near you to become involved in, visit www.kiwanis.org 

Thanks for listening! Be sure to subscribe, like and follow us! More great stories headed your way! 

Carol Janousek shares her story of being adopted at birth and then in her late 50’s finding her birth family.  Not only that, but our host Carol Chiarito also shares her story as the two met and became “facebook friends” in a group there for adoptees.  

Mrs. Janousek’s story has all sorts of twists and turns as she shares even more about her own children and we have a special treat from her husband Larry at the end!  

If you are adopted and ever considered searching for your birth family, this podcast might give you some ideas on how to get started, as well as the “permission” that it is OK to wonder about your roots.  

If you have adopted children, you also may find ideas here on how to support them through their thoughts and questions about their history.  

If you like this podcast, and would like to hear more podcasts about adoption, visit Adoption: The Making of Me with Louise Browne and Sarah Rienhardt.  A podcast dedicated to the subject of adoption.

Welcome to this 2021 special Holiday edition with our host, Carol Chiarito as she encourages families to “have a chat” this holiday season. Whether you’ve visited your parents and have noticed a change in their interactions, their memory, their abilities or if you are noticing those same changes in yourself….it may be time to have “the Kitchen Table Talk”, as referred to by Chiarito. 

Taken from her book, “It’s as Simple As Where You Live, A Guide for Beginning the Journey Into Eldercare”, Carol shares ideas and discusses her own experiences with her family in starting the conversations. Might not be the topic you think you’d like to cover, but it definitely the topic you should be covering; at any age! 

Take a listen and get yourself ready for being prepared for whatever your future may hold. 

For more information about Carol’s book, or for information on how to start your own family conversation contact her at [email protected],

Happy Holidays to everyone!!

This week of Veterans Day is the perfect time to share this two-part episode featuring Michael Mikelson and the story of the movie “Missing Over Tokyo”. Part one will take us back to the beginning of this journey when he was 11 years old curious about a WWII picture he found in the family scrapbook. Part two will lead us through the happenstances of events that led to his ongoing findings, uncovering of events and stories that have led to the making of the movie. 

From that time as the curious 11 year old his life revolved around history, in fact it was one of the main reasons he chose undergraduate and graduate studies in History. He then spent time as a project manager at corporations such as Boeing, Microsoft, and AT&T Solutions. But once he discovered in-combat film footage of his great-uncle's B-29 crew in 2008, he switched his focus on learning how to make documentary and dramatic narrative films and has been and is currently traveling the US finding veterans to interview on-camera, and going to research archives for the making of this film.  

If you are a history buff, this is the story you won’t want to miss! If you have family members who were involved in WWII, YOU will love this story as well his tips on doing your own “research” into his questions: “What led us to this moment?" And “What is the story behind this picture?”   

Michael is currently negotiating the film production, so take a listen and learn the back story, so you will be ready for the movie series! 

You can reach Michael at [email protected] or search LinkedIn or Facebook with the same name to follow his work on the movie!  

A salute to all our Veterans out there! Thank you for your service!  

A special tribute here to my dad, Sgt. Benny Leighton, a WWII Army Air force Veteran, and my brother S. Mick Leighton a Veteran of the Vietnam war. My heros!!

This week of Veterans Day is the perfect time to share this two-part episode featuring Michael Mikelson and the story of the movie “Missing Over Tokyo”. Part one will take us back to the beginning of this journey when he was 11 years old curious about a WWII picture he found in the family scrapbook. Part two will lead us through the happenstances of events that led to his ongoing findings, uncovering of events and stories that have led to the making of the movie. 

From that time as the curious 11 year old his life revolved around history, in fact it was one of the main reasons he chose undergraduate and graduate studies in History. He then spent time as a project manager at corporations such as Boeing, Microsoft, and AT&T Solutions. But once he discovered in-combat film footage of his great-uncle's B-29 crew in 2008, he switched his focus on learning how to make documentary and dramatic narrative films and has been and is currently traveling the US finding veterans to interview on-camera, and going to research archives for the making of this film.  

If you are a history buff, this is the story you won’t want to miss! If you have family members who were involved in WWII, YOU will love this story as well his tips on doing your own “research” into his questions: “What led us to this moment?" And “What is the story behind this picture?”   

Michael is currently negotiating the film production, so take a listen and learn the back story, so you will be ready for the movie series! 

You can reach Michael at [email protected] or search LinkedIn or Facebook with the same name to follow his work on the movie!  

A salute to all our Veterans out there! Thank you for your service!  

A special tribute here to my dad, Sgt. Benny Leighton, a WWII Army Air force Veteran, and my brother S. Mick Leighton a Veteran of the Vietnam war. My heros!!

Spending time with Gene Verdu, or as his friends refer to him, “Uncle Gene,” was such an amazing day for me! This episode was created to be the kick-off podcast for The Love A Senior Day in St. Clair County, (Belleville, IL) in October 2021. We unfortunately had to postpone the event until June 10, 2022, so we decided to move forward with the podcasts and share the great stories Uncle Gene has to share about his work over the years with children in Belize AND seniors in the St. Clair County area.

 Uncle Gene never stops thinking about new things to do to enhance people's lives and the programs he has created will live on for generations to come! 

 The Uncle Gene Foundation is the host for the Love A Senior Day in Belleville, IL and you will hear why it is such a great fit. This podcast will be featured on The Love a Senior Day podcast platform as well, along with the other sponsor podcasts. 

 Grab a cup of coffee and sit back, relax and enjoy Uncle Gene’s story as he shares with me on the show. 

 For more information about the Uncle Gene Foundation, visit https://unclegenefoundation.org/

 To be a part of the Love A Senior Day in Belleville, IL on JUNE 10, visit https://loveasenior.org/love-a-senior-day-belleville-il/ Sign up to be a sponsor or a vendor!! It will be an amazing day!