"Since I was a child, my Great Aunt Beverly and Uncle Herbert were the highlights of family gatherings. She had bright red hair, an infectious laugh, and a knack for hilarious one-liners in her high-pitched Brooklyn accent. Herb was her perfect complement, sharing her humor and warmth. All my grandparents had died by the time I was 12, so having a link to their generation through my paternal grandmother's sister has always meant a lot to me."
"When Beverly's husband, Herbert, was diagnosed with cancer, she promised him that if he recovered, they'd move from New York to Las Vegas. They did in 1990. "I gave him 16 years here, which was pretty good," she told me when I chatted with her recently. After Herbert died in 2006, Beverly stayed put because she had made great friends in Vegas. She didn't want to leave them or change her life."
"Beverly's son lives nearby in San Francisco, and her daughter in North Carolina has been asking her to move in for years. But Beverly is happy on her own. "As my lady friends become widows, they're very happy living alone," she told me. "If you're mobile and your issues are manageable, you can do it. I drove until I was 88. My son has my food shopping delivered, he gets my house cleaned, and I get rides to doctor's appointments.""
Great Aunt Beverly is 93, lives alone in Las Vegas, and has maintained independence and a busy social life for 20 years. She moved from New York to Las Vegas in 1990 after promising her husband Herbert they would relocate if he recovered from cancer. Herbert died in 2006, and Beverly remained because she built close friendships and did not want to change her life. Her son lives in San Francisco and arranges grocery deliveries and house cleaning; she receives rides to appointments. She drove until age 88 and believes mobile elders with manageable issues can live happily alone.
Read at Business Insider
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