Fourteen extraordinary citizens will be honored Thursday, at Munger Senior Center, Cornwall-on-Hudson.
The creator of the initiative is Cliff Davis of Newburgh, a former columnist for The Senior Gazette. He notes that each of the honorees is being recognized for an exemplary lifestyle and for having cognitive skills comparable to someone 20 or 30 years younger. They also lead a socially active life, a reasonably healthy diet and often follow some sort of formal or informal exercise program.
“I believe that in the 21st century longevity by adhering to certain healthy standards is a noble achievement, and we should be recognizing our seniors for their efforts,” says Davis, who began the initiative after writing a 2019 column for The Senior Gazette about an 80-year-old woman who excelled in a variety of exercise challenges. He described her as a “super-ager.”
The name stuck.
Davis defines a super-ager as an individual who is 80 years of age or above and has cognitive skills (core skills the brain uses to think, read, learn, remember, reason and pay attention). They don’t have to be in perfect physical condition, but may have overcome physical, mental or emotional challenges.
The pandemic sidetracked him for a time, but in 2021, he produced profiles of three-more super agers.
In time, the idea of a broader program came to him. He approached the Orange County Office for the Aging and director Anne Marie Maglione for help in seeking out other super-agers and began making the rounds of senior centers throughout the county in search of honorees.
In August of last year, the first group of seniors was honored at Munger Senior Center. They included William Kelly, Helen Schoonmaker and Anita Vandermark of Walden, Robert Garrison of Wallkill, Regina Angelo of Newburgh and Skip Chambers of Montgomery.
This year’s list of honorees is equally impressive.
It includes the following:
Town of Newburgh: John Fitzgerald (91), William Kaplan (95) and Carole McDermott (81).
Walden: Claire Ciardullo (86).
Wallkill: Colleen Schneider (90).
Montgomery: Romeo Zaccone (100).
Cornwall: Robert Hershberger (80), Elizabeth Jurgens (92).
Cornwall-on-Hudson: Martin Leach (83).
The second annual historic Super-Ager honoree luncheon will occur Thursday, August 24, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., at Munger Cottage Senior Center, 183 Main Street, Cornwall, the same site as last year’s inaugural event.
If you would like to nominate anyone for future honors, send a request for preliminary forms to Cliff Davis, 6 Bainbridge Place, Unit 902, Newburgh, NY 12550.