Florida's oldest active attorney still works at 105

[JustCurious]

At 105, William Jackson Vaughn is the oldest active member of The Florida Bar. One of my favorite songs is by The Judds. In it, the country duo sweetly croon, “Grandpa, tell me ‘bout the good old days.” That song keeps playing in my head as I reflect on my recent conversation with Mr. Vaughn by telephone at his office, where he still reports to the WJ Vaughn Law Firm in Melbourne several times per week with the assistance of his daughter, Elise Vaughn, who is also an attorney. He has difficulty hearing now and relied heavily on headphones and his daughter during our call. However, he proudly told me that he was able to work full time until he had a stroke two or three years ago.

“I do a lot of sleeping now, at the wrong times. I want to sleep in the daytime and stay awake at night,” he drawled in a Southern accent that reminded me of pecan trees, molasses, and sweet tea.

When I asked him why he keeps coming into the office, he said, “That’s all I’ve known for so long, but things are different now.” His daughter told me that he also enjoys an occasional game of Solitaire on his computer.

https://www.floridabar.org/the-flor...g-testament-to-the-history-of-the-profession/

 

[ponyboy]

I think its great. He clearly loves what he does. Cant hate a person for that.

 

[braumeister]

When I first moved to Cincinnati, I made the acquaintance of a wonderful man who lived near me. He was 99 years old and still went to the office every day. He walked about three blocks to the bus stop, took the city bus downtown, bought a newspaper and walked across the street to his office in the only (at the time) skyscraper in the city. He had sold his business long before, but kept his office just to have someplace to go.

He spent the morning reading the paper and having brief phone conversations with most of the people he knew (some of whom were really big shots). Then he went out for lunch at a local restaurant where he was treated like royalty (but ate very little). In the afternoon he wandered around the building for an hour or two and poked his head into a few offices to say hi before taking the bus back home.

He was one of the happiest people I have ever met. He kept his routine up for another few years before passing away.

 

[bolt]

I think its great. He clearly loves what he does. Cant hate a person for that.

I think its outstanding!

One of my pals worked .gov till 84, or 86. He'd still be there but for memory issues.
His final decades working were similar to the 105yr old Atty. above.
Arrive at bohemoth .gov office bld. for work, next is 10am coffee, Lunch, 2pm coffee, exiting shortly after coffee's over.

Its not like there are any know it alls or haters on the .net /sarcasm

 

[Retch The Grate]

My Grandfather only stopped going in to the office regularly in his mid-90s after they moved out of Manhattan to Jersey City. I strongly feel that directly lead to the decline of his last couple years of life (not that he would have been going strong much longer necessarily).

He would go into the office, read the paper at his desk, let the young guys (in their mid-60s at that point) use his office for important client meetings, take a long lunch, go home in the afternoon, and loved that he was "still working".

 

[camfused]

What would be more interesting is interviewing people that actually hire this guy.

Personally, I think he is nuts for working so long.

 

[ncbill]

What would be more interesting is interviewing people that actually hire this guy.

Personally, I think he is nuts for working so long.

Probably outlived all his friends.

That happened to my grandmother...moved into a local CCRC when she was 75 & hubby 85...hubby died a decade later...grandmother stayed active with relatives & friends but by the time another decade had passed they were all dead as well, except for one childhood friend who had dementia so severe she had to be locked up in memory care for her own safety.

 

[ponyboy]

What would be more interesting is interviewing people that actually hire this guy.

Personally, I think he is nuts for working so long.

Well, you know what they say about opinions. lol

 

[FreeBear]

My Grandfather only stopped going in to the office regularly in his mid-90s after they moved out of Manhattan to Jersey City. I strongly feel that directly lead to the decline of his last couple years of life (not that he would have been going strong much longer necessarily).

He would go into the office, read the paper at his desk, let the young guys (in their mid-60s at that point) use his office for important client meetings, take a long lunch, go home in the afternoon, and loved that he was "still working".

So did he still get paid and do any real w*rk?? Seems like a sweet gig.

In my old industry, we would call this “training”. Nice lunches on the company dime.

If I had it this good, maybe I’d be tempted to stay too. Naaa, love sitting in my boat on the big lake with DW much better.

 

[Dtail]

How many years would he input in the retirement calculator?

 

[Retch The Grate]

So did he still get paid and do any real w*rk?? Seems like a sweet gig.

In my old industry, we would call this “training”. Nice lunches on the company dime.

If I had it this good, maybe I’d be tempted to stay too. Naaa, love sitting in my boat on the big lake with DW much better.

He was the founder of the company, it's still named after him, so he was certainly getting money from it still.

 

[JustCurious]

How many years would he input in the retirement calculator?

That's a good question. What would be his safe withdrawal rate?

 

[trumpeting_angel]

In Windsor, NY, a 108-year-old barber just died. He was still working. Heard about him on NOR, but here is what the Times said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/26/nyregion/anthony-mancinelli-dead.html

Sounds like a delightful guy.

 

[FreeBear]

He was the founder of the company, it's still named after him, so he was certainly getting money from it still.

It’s good to be the king!