Words of Wisdom with Shelby

By Shelby Hoefling

Seniors are a too-often untapped resource in our communities. It's time to change that! Please join me as I talk with Seniors all around the world who have nothing but great stories to share from a li... more

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FAQs about Words of Wisdom with Shelby:

How many episodes does Words of Wisdom with Shelby have?

The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.

Words of Wisdom with Shelby episodes:

June 27, 2021 Episode 12: Eileen Beck Keeler (age 90)
In this episode I had the pleasure of interviewing my dear friend's Grandma, Eileen Beck Keeler. Eileen was born on April 19, 1931 in Pennsylvania. She got married at 17 years old and moved all around the world with her husband Ed. Her relationship advice? Be prepared to give and take, learn to appreciate your partner, and don’t shy away from affection! They both had 3 beautiful boys that they raised in Alexandria, VA. She worked as a teacher’s aid for twenty years where she felt she could truly connect with the children and was able to learn from them every single day. Not only does she feel she was able to learn every day throughout her career, but to this day says she learns something new with every single interaction she encounters. Her words of wisdom blew me away as they were very "yogi".. Eileen shared with us that "what you give is what you get" - if you have good vibes, and you give off good positive energy with a smile, that is what you shall receive in return. I couldn't agree more! Enjoy!!
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29min
January 28, 2021 Episode 11: Donne Davis (age 74)
Donne Davis, founder of The GaGa Sisterhood, is 74 years young. She was born in 1946 and has three grandchildren.
She has been extremely successful throughout her life as a mother, wife, life coach, counselor, and speech pathologist but found her truepurpose in life after retiring in 2003 when she became a Grandma. Hearing her talk about how special it is to be a Grandma brought me to tears! Donne met many other Grandmas who also felt this role was so profound and spoke the same language. They were all going through the same experiences as a Grandma which led to her creating the GaGa Sisterhood where Grandma's can bond, brag, and benefit. The GaGa Sisterhood has been around for 17 years! They cover all things: techniques, travel, reading, sleep, meditation, forgiveness, ideas of what to do with grandchildren, experiences as a Grandma, relationship issues, tips and tricks and more.
I learned so much from this conversation as we really got deep and took a look at various situations from many different perspectives.
Donne had some great advice for any Grandchild-Grandparent relationship on how to stay close. She offered up so many great things to do together (socially distanced or not), questions to ask, and conversations to have to help each other find commonalities and play an active role in each other's lives. I hope that Grandmas who listen to this episode consider joining the AMAZING GaGa Sisterhood (I can't wait to join one day) and Grandchildren feel inspired to feel connected to Grandparents.
She finishes our amazing conversation by going into 6 skills she and the rest of the Grandmas from the GaGa Sisterhood are strengthening in 2021: Self-care, Self-awareness, Patience, Curiosity, Empathy and Forgiveness. Talk about a great 2021 if you focus on all six of those skills! Lastly, her final words of wisdom to share — do your best to be a good listener... something that is so important but hard to do!
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48min
December 30, 2020 Episode 10: Michael Cohen (age 79)
Join me in this episode with Doctor Michael Cohen, age 79 turning 80 this March. Not only is he extremely talented with his poetry (he recites a Yates poem for us in the beginning) but is also an extraordinarily talented doctor who won an Ellis Island Medal of Honor for Achievements in the Field of Medicine in 2019, still practices medicine (and has since 1965), and currently teaches a course at Columbia Medical School on the role of bedside manner in working with and diagnosing patients.
Michael is also a husband who has been married for over 58 years, a father to two daughters, and known as Pop-pops to his 5 grand-children. He is around young people all of the time teaching medicine, which he attributes to what helps him stay sharp (and boy is he sharp!) as well as having a hunger for learning.
Despite all of his accomplishments, he is the most humble person you’ll come across. He has made a large impact in the medical field in many ways, directly in his practice and indirectly, through fundraising, but he says that the most rewarding thing he has done in his lifetime is taking care of human beings.
Some words of wisdom passed along from Michael include, “Learn to listen.” Whether you are a physician or not, “the more you learn about a person and where they are in their life, the more appropriate your advice will become.”
He also strongly believes you can stay young by continuing to learn everyday and getting insight into other peoples journeys on this planet.
Truly the most humble man, he believes in service; “When it’s all over, in the end it’s what you did for others that matters the most.”
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45min
December 02, 2020 Episode 9: Grandma Bobbe (age 87)
Grandma Bobbe graces us with her presence in today’s episode! She may be known by most as a TikTok star with 2.9 million followers who has been a guest on Jimmy Kimmel and The Kelly Clarkson Show but there is so much more to her! I have to be honest I was extremely nervous for this interview as I felt like I was interviewing a famous celebrity, which I was!
But Grandma Bobbe made me smile almost the entire interview as she is the most humble, sweetest, and genuine person who truly lights up any room she is in. Grandma Bobbe was born in Georgetown, Kentucky on February 12, 1933. She loves to spend time with loved ones (including her favorite Grandson behind the TikTok videos, Matt), LOVES to fish, loves to have a good time, and LOVES her whiteclaws!
She broke her hip which wiped out some of her memory but luckily she had her Grandson, Matt, to help her out. It was so nice to listen to her talk and go through memories in her life, especially those that came back to her that she had forgotten about. We got to chat a little bit about her life, her children, and grandchildren. We also talked about what it's like to be on TikTok (she claims he doesn't even know what that is haha!) and of course she mentioned her favorite Grandchild, Matt, many times!
Some words of wisdom she passed along include to always be yourself and accept other people for who they are, especially in relationships! Her advice for when you run into people you don't get along with: just ignore them and keep to yourself (and do Grandma things if you're GB). She believes that the best you can do is to be yourself and don't try to be something else and relax and take it just one day at a time :). Excellent advice if you ask me! ENJOY!!
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34min
November 17, 2020 Episode 8: Bena Shklyanoy (age 75)
Bena Shklyanoy, age 75, was born on July 29, 1945 in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, when it was part of the Soviet Union. After finishing the Kiev State University with a graduate degree in Russian Language, she worked as a technical translator and editor. In 1976 she immigrated to the United States with her husband and two young daughters settling in Chicago. She spoke with me about her experience growing up in the Soviet Union and how different, and at times difficult, it was to lack the freedom we are all used to in the United States. She lived in a communal apartment, had to be careful about who she talked to about certain things, and didn’t even know what life would be like once she immigrated to the USA. Her driving force to leave the Soviet Union and say good bye to her parents, unsure if she would see them again one day, was to give her daughters a life she didn’t have.
In 2004 when Bena’s mother passed away she felt extremely scared that her heritage would slip away and be forgotten so she started her family story project and dug as much as she could to fill in her family tree for her daughters. She talks about this amazing experience connecting with family from all over who despite being separated for so long or not closely related (2nd cousin for example) family members still would see similarities in one another both externally and internally.
She put together this information on her website: https://appledoesnotfall.com and eventually this all was made into TWO plays!
Not only does Bena pass along words of wisdom of her own, but she also passes along words of wisdom from her Grandmother, who she shared a room with throughout most of her childhood. My favorite bit of advice passed along from her Grandmother was, “the things you can buy are cheap and the things you CAN’T buy are of value.
Enjoy!!
*FYI, in episode I said my Nanny's bday is July 12. I have no idea where my mind was at.. it's June 12. Sorry, Nan! But, my GREAT grandmother's bday is July 12 - shout out to her :)*
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1h 8min
October 11, 2020 Episode 7: Leo Dorman (age 96)
In this episode I had the privilege of sitting down with Leo Dorman, a tri-vet who is 96 years old! Leo was born in Saline, Louisiana on July 30, 1924. Leo has served our country three times in total: World War 2, Korean War, and the Vietnam war. Leo went away to military school at 9 years old and began his career of flying at age 18 when he was sworn into the Navy as a Navy Aviation Cadet on September 3, 1942. With good training, a little bit of luck, trust in others, and determination Leo was able to fly over 10,000 hours. He flew over 30 different types of planes and has a model plane of every plane he flew, which he showed to me as we spoke (so you will hear some pauses as he shows me the planes). He was an operations officer based on a small island in the Bikini Atoll in support of nuclear bomb testing which you will also hear about! Some words of wisdom you will walk away with include Leo's advice to think twice and act once, live an honest life, and treat others the way you would like to be treated.
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53min
August 20, 2020 Episode 6: Jerry Witkovsky (age 92)
In this episode we sit down with Jerry Witkovsky who is 92 years old and hands down an amazing person. I was introduced to Jerry just a few weeks ago through a podcast listener and he has quickly become a friend, mentor, and overall someone I am extremely grateful to know. Jerry has just finished writing his second book called The Grandest Love: Inspiring the Grandparent-Grandchild Connection (available on Amazon)! This is VERY close to my heart since that is my passion as well, to help inspire and create a deeper connection between grandparents and grandchildren! Jerry focuses a little bit more so on the Grandparent side and he has even created 2 online courses! He is a longtime social-work professional, grandparenting activist and passionate Grandpa.
I think what I love most is that Jerry is a curious person, always seeking to learn and create and has no plans to slow down.. age is just a number to Jerry! I have no doubt this episode will inspire you to live your life to the fullest just like he does :).
Check out his website to learn more: https://www.grandparentsunleashed.com/jerry-witkovsky-grandparents-advocate/
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31min
August 04, 2020 Episode 5: Words of Wisdom from Sonia Kaplan (age 91)
In this episode we sit down with my friend's Bubby, Sonia Kaplan. Sonia lives in Atlantic City and is turning 92 this January. She has an amazing life story to share with you all which involves surviving the Holocaust. She is truly an inspiration and has shared her story through her book which you can find on Amazon! Despite all that she went through, she did not let her past control her future. She did what she had to do in her life. You'll hear her say a few times, 'If someone else can do it. You can do it too!' I hope that this episode inspires you to go after your hopes and dreams because you're alive and that is something to not take for granted, but also because, if someone else can do it.. you can do it too. Of course there are times when this interview gets sad because what we are talking about, the Holocaust, is extremely sad. There is sadness and anger and heart ache, but above all this interview is honest. Sonia is an absolutely beautiful woman inside and out and I'm so grateful for her time sitting down with me to share her words of wisdom with you all! Enjoy!!
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40min
July 15, 2020 Episode 4: Words of Wisdom from Audrey Mutton (age 93)
Audrey Mutton lives in Australia (you’re going to love her accent) and turned 93 just this week! Audrey is known as a loving, kind, compassionate, adventurous, always-up-for-anything kind of woman. This episode is all about PASSION and for Audrey, a big passion of hers is travel! She’s spent many years of her life traveling and meeting people all over the world, no matter what age she is... she’s up for any adventure and any challenge! I hope you listen to this and feel inspired to travel (when possible), say yes more often, have fun, and surround yourself with GOOD people! Enjoy!
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43min
June 30, 2020 Episode 3: Words of Wisdom from Jay Ku (age 81)
Excited for you all to listen to this interview I had with Jay Ku who was born in 1939 in New York, New York and now lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a Chinese-American, she straddled both cultures, notably returning to Shanghai as a baby via Pearl Harbor in 1941 just a few months prior to the bombing. Jay has lived a full and inspiring life thus far... she even thinks she has lived several lives! A housewife, a hippie, a feminist, a lawyer, a mother, a world traveler, an adventure seeker. She is the heart of her family, instilling values of compassion, generosity, and love to all who know her. These values have encouraged her to always fight for what was right professionally and personally, and though she cannot be protesting for Black Lives Matter in person, she is certainly there in spirit and urges listeners to do whatever they can to work towards justice and equality and fellowship, causes she has championed all her life. Ihope you walk away learning how important it is to be both persistent and flexible in your own life as Jay was determined and dedicated in her own. And the story of her 2nd marriage (of 52 years) is unlike anything you've ever heard! Enjoy!
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33min

FAQs about Words of Wisdom with Shelby:

How many episodes does Words of Wisdom with Shelby have?

The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.