Page 124 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2018

GOLDEN YEARS young at heart
Still in the Game
Seniors Stay Active
story by Lynn Lofton and Kelsey Sunderman-Foster
photos courtesy of Lucy Hazeur and by Neil Ladner and Teddy Lewis
Some seniors retire and sit on the sideline, and some stay in the game — whether working or volunteering in community service.
Jim and Joan Day continue to work in their family business, Triplett-Day Drug Store, when most of their contemporaries are long since retired. Their store is an icon in downtown Gulfport, having been in operation 63 years.
Jim Day, 88, is a registered pharmacist and a reliable fixture in the pharmacy department. Joan Day, 83, was
a nurse at Memorial Hospital for 30 years and has been assisting with the store’s popular lunch counter since her retirement.
She was born Joan McCabe in Gulfport, and he was born in Inverness in the Mississippi Delta. He moved to Gulfport to work for his great uncle who had a drug store on 13th Street.
Asked about the couple’s activities, he, as always, had a ready quip, “All we do is eat, sleep and work.”
Lucy Hazeur, 76, and Ginni McCann, 74, are involved as ambassadors for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Retiree Partnership, a local organization that advocates for relocation to this area following retirement.
Hazeur, originally from New Orleans, retired from her
career in social work at Keesler Air Force Base. “I had been on the Coast many years and reared my family here,” she said. “It’s a great place to live; so many things to do, especially with our wonderful beaches.”
She enjoys participating in Pilates, is a member of the Memorial Hospital Axillary, and volunteers with the Make- A-Wish Foundation and Art in the Pass. She stays busy, but says the most important aspect of her life is spending time with her four wonderful children.
Ginni McCann resides in Biloxi. Prior to her retirement, she worked as a psychotherapist for the Department of Defense and worked abroad in Turkey and Germany.
“While I was on active duty with the Air Force, I was temporarily assigned to Keesler Air Force Base. I fell in love with the Gulf Coast and never forgot it,” McCann recalls. “I knew I wanted to retire near water and in a warm climate, so in 2004 I relocated to Biloxi with my little Yorkie, Ms. Chelsea. I feel like I am on vacation everyday!”
McCann keeps her calendar full of fun activities such as playing bridge and traveling with local touring groups. She also enjoys aquatic exercise and continuing her pursuit of knowledge by attending lectures and community meetings, and staying up-to-date on veterans affairs.
SENIORS Joan and Jim Day (left), Lucy Hazeur (center) and Ginni McCann (right) enjoy life to the fullest.
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