Life in the Later Lane
Free speech and anti-war activist Sue Trupin found her niche caring for AIDS patients and supporting black grandmothers
Sue Trupin spent more than a decade living in a countercultural enclave in Canyon, a community in...
She’s a photographer and a flamenco dancer who fights to reduce maternal deaths in poor countries around the world
The difficulties that pregnant women face in impoverished parts of the world can seem overwhelming. But Stacey...
Cathedral Hill doctor became a leader in the treatment and prevention of AIDS.
As a boy, James Campbell spent after-school hours in his mother’s lab. Ruth Campbell was a doctor,...
Through one-man performances, son of Holocaust survivor shares history with high school students
It’s a shocking and head-spinning image: A Jew in a German officer’s uniform is being ministered to...
Being an ‘old soul’ isn’t just about age but an attitude – best nurtured by intergenerational contact
SF SENIORBEAT GUEST COLUMN – There’s a corner of Gen Z internet culture that has popularized the...
How a dedicated teacher of young children became a dedicated civic volunteer.
Sharon Yow’s father drove a truck and tried his hand at farming. Her mother worked a switchboard...
Famed boogie-woogie pianist embroiders her performances with her own hand-crafted art
Caroline Dahl has never forgotten the glamorous, red-haired woman in a sequined dress she saw at a...
The biggest, best walk – and bath of a lifetime.
Tina Martin SENIORBEAT GUEST COLUMN – I love San Francisco, and I love to walk. So when...
‘So hard, all the losses and pain:’ Personal and world tragedies led daughter of Holocaust survivors to life of helping others help others
Juliet Rothman was living in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1992 when her 21-year-old son Daniel attempted a double...
Rock ‘n’ roll and diamonds shaped the life of Arthur Indenbaum
By the time he was 12, Arthur Indenbaum had been playing the piano for four years and...
A lucky phone call steered him into a 54-year career as a shipping executive.
Tony Hanley felt stuck. He’d flunked out of San Francisco City College and was working at an...
He rode the rails, he slept on the streets, Kevin Fagan spent decades reporting on the homeless for the San Francisco Chronicle
It's a Friday night at Chief Sullivan’s, an Irish-themed bar in North Beach, and The Irish Newsboys...
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Coping with Covid-19: Shanti Project partners with city agency in new program to help the most vulnerable
The Shanti Project, created in 1974 to support people with life-threatening illnesses, has launched a new project to address the coronavirus pandemic, in partnership with San Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services (DAS). The CERV (COVID-19 Emergency Response Volunteer) program provides one-time or occasional practical support to older and vulnerable adults, who are strongly ...
Coping with Covid-19: Perspective, resilience and optimism buoys seniors’ apartment building
It takes a lot to scare 90-year-old Esther Goldberg. She survived the Holocaust, hiding for years from the Nazis who occupied Brussels. Martin Pennisi, 82, has a high threshold for fear as well. He spent more than a decade in a combat zone during the Vietnam War – with shrapnel scars to prove it. And ...
Architect embraces ‘the magic’ of chocolate in a second career where he blends creativity with science of the craft
That year in Paris. It was everything 32-year-old David Upchurch had dreamed of. The streets, the galleries, the shows, the people. A charming apartment not far from the Moulin Rouge. A chocolate shop at one end of the block, a patisserie at the other. “That first truffle was magical. I spent all my money on ...
Older adults grappling with layoffs and rising costs of living swell the workforce
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you know of any seniors who are, for whatever reason, still working – in the public arena or at home – and willing to share their experience, please contact robinevans@sfseniorbeat.com. Once, or so the story goes, a cake and a gold watch signaled the end of one’s working life and the beginning ...
Coping with Covid-19: Volunteers, donations help Meals on Wheels keep delivering to clients
For 50 years, Meals on Wheels San Francisco has been serving home-bound seniors who, even in the best of times, cannot access nutritious meals due to health issues, financial situations or both. Meal delivery also connects seniors to a network of services that allows them to live in their homes with dignity and independence. In 2019, ...
Recology driver not ready to recycle his customers, though he’s eligible for retirement
Bernard Lewis walked to his car, opened the door, unlocked the glove compartment and pulled out a Ziploc bag. “These,” he said, “are some of the letters and photos my customers sent me.” Crayoned notes from young children, photos of smiling families on vacation, ‘thank you’ letters. He handled them carefully. Lewis drives for Recology ...
