A Life Well Lived

[mojavesue]

Just wanted to write about my Father who passed away of a stroke a couple weeks ago at the age of 78. He was an adopter of early retirement with him and my stepmother retiring at the ages of 55 back in 2000. They had some bad timing with SORR as the markets tanked shortly after they retired but got through that only to be hit again 5 years later during the Great Recession.

Though they had some bad luck early on, they persevered and had a wonderful retirement. He was so happy to be able to live life on his terms. Spending more time with family, travelling to 47 states, playing lots of golf, building classic cars, and fishing up in Canada in the summer and spending the winters fishing in Florida.
He is the reason I am now early retired at the age of 55. Wife and I got serious about saving and investing around the time they retired. I am so happy that he got to do so much in his retired life. Life is short and we have to enjoy every day that we have.

 

[COcheesehead]

Great story, thanks for sharing. He lives on as an example to many.

 

[audreyh1]

Great story, thanks for sharing. Sorry for your loss.

I was inspired to ER by DM who passed away from cancer before retirement at 63, the age I am now. DF retired at the classic age and went on to live another 25 years, most of which he really enjoyed living at the farm.

You never know!

 

[street]

Sounded like a great ER and thanks for the story. My dad did an ER too and so glad he did. No millions for them but lived simply and had a long, wonderful retirement. I'm hoping for the same just like you are doing.

 

[disneysteve]

Very sorry for your loss. Great story, though. It sounds like he made the most of his 23 years of retirement.

 

[Dreamer]

Love hearing how he enjoyed his retirement. I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[Koolau]

Blessings on you and the family.

 

[Jerry1]

Great story, thanks for sharing. Sorry for your loss.

Indeed.

 

[MarieIG]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[nhcycling]

So sorry for your loss. Glad he got to enjoy some good years.

 

[pacergal]

Thanks for sharing a bit of your Dads life with us, seems he was a great teacher on finances and early retirement!
Condolences on your loss.

 

[Gumby]

My condolences. Sounds like he lived the dream that we all aspire to.

 

[Koolau]

My poor dad. He did not feel fulfilled being retired. He looked for a j*b until he went into a nursing home. OP's dad had a much more fulfilling retirement. Good on him!! I'm trying to make up for my dad's bad retirement experience by enjoying every minute.

 

[Dtail]

Sorry for your loss. Nice to hear these stories which help folks with the OMY thoughts, plus reinforce us folks already happily retired.

 

[frayne]

Sorry for your loss and thanks for sharing. It is a good story that many never get the similar opportunity to do for various reasons. Your father was a fortunate man indeed.

 

[Ronstar]

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like your father enjoyed retirement and lived a full life.

 

[mojavesue]

Thank you everyone for the condolences. It has been a rough couple of weeks. Talking with my brothers and reflecting on his life though really made us think how fortunate he was and really made the most of his retirement. They would make regular trips out to Las Vegas to visit us and we always had fun. A great memory for me is going to the Railroad Pass Casino and learning to play Craps. That was back when the table minimum was 25 cents. So you could play and learn the game and 20 dollars would keep you on the table for hours sometimes. He had many hobbies and interests and that kept him busy and active. I plan on following in his footsteps.