Independence for Seniors
Doris was one of the most independent 87 year olds I have ever known. While other seniors her age were confined to nursing homes, assisted living centers, or living restrictive lives , Doris was living life to the fullest. When I met her in 2007, her husband had just died. She had no children or close friends that lived in Washington State. She stood 4 ft. 9 in. and had a club foot which limited her physical capabilities but she was determined that physical limitations would not hold her back. She was always ahead of her time graduating from medical school in 1960 at a time where most women were confined to roles of raising children and keeping house, or working service jobs until they married.
Doris was a real trailblazer in every sense of the word. She lived at the end of the Long Beach Peninsula, on 20 acres of forested land, in a mobile home overlooking the oyster beds and tidelands of Willipa bay. She was a native of sunny Florida and had just retired to the Long Beach peninsula 10 years earlier. When her husband died she wanted to fulfill one of her dreams of living surrounded by nature, so she purchased this home with bear, elk, and raccoons as her visitors.
