Boomers

In huge numbers, the nation's 70 million baby boomers find themselves coping with a numbing range of expected and unexpected midlife changes, including divorce, the death of parents, the diminishment of health and youth, and these days the loss of jobs and homes as well.

In an effort to educate older adults and their families on aging issues, the SCAN Foundation has released a new online tool to help people map out their old-age needs.

Keith Ochwat admits that he and his Documentary Foundation partner, Christopher Rufo, both 27-year-old Sacramento natives, learned a lot in the making of "Age of Champions," their new film about Senior Olympics athletes.

Roses fill the front garden. In the back, there are sweetly scented citrus trees and chickens pecking on the deck. And inside the Citrus Heights home are piles of clutter in every room: art magazines from the early 1990s, old newspapers, greeting cards and hand-scrawled notes, empty bottles, completed art projects and art supplies that Lois Gaddis might use, if she ever got around to it.

The Slatter twins turned 90 earlier this month. Both widowed, they're independent and sharp, the pride of their extended family, which is happy with the occasional celebrity of their twindom.

When she filled out her advance health care directive form the other day and had it notarized, Patti Pinkerton had no trouble defining her end-of-life wishes.

Sacramento County resident Ora Rakestraw, 94, who has been volunteering throughout the more than three decades of her retirement, is a finalist for a national lifetime achievement award for her ongoing service to the community.

For people 50 and older who are interested in expanding their tech horizons, the Hart Senior Center is hosting an introductory presentation on what the iPad is and how to use it.

At age 90, in the twilight of his more than 65 years as a priest, including serving as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento from 1980 to 1994, Bishop Francis Quinn remains a man of faith and hope, dedicated to serving others.

Kay Amundsen, 87, knows exactly why she likes the new taiko drumming class at Ethel M. Hart Senior Center in midtown Sacramento: She gets out all her frustrations banging on the big Japanese drums.

Greg Welch knew as soon as he heard the voice. In an instant, memories of a young, desperately wounded Marine – memories of another life in another era – flooded back through the years.

Lisa Smith is the picture of vibrant aging. She's bright, lively and outgoing, a trim 89-year-old who lives alone, golfs three times a week and goes to chair exercise class on other days. She plays bridge online and keeps up with politics.

A lifetime of wear and tear on his joints caused Dick Pryor, a 77-year-old retired landscape architect, to undergo not one but two surgeries to replace his knees.

More than 95 percent of Americans past age 30 think that if they provide housing and care for their aging relatives, they should be able to claim those relatives as dependents on their tax returns, according to new research from A Place for Mom, a nationwide referral service on senior housing options.

A heart-shaped silver balloon floats in a corner of the small bedroom where Claire Findley died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, in mid-January, only a week after her family celebrated her 60th birthday.

Older adults whose high school education was interrupted by war can apply to the Sacramento County Office of Education's Operation Recognition program for their high school diplomas.

SeniorNet NE, which provides computer training for older adults on the Rio Americano High School campus, has announced its 2012 schedule of computer classes.

At least a half-dozen companies specializing in seniors' moves have cropped up in the region in recent years. Some were started as outgrowths of professional-organization businesses. Others, like Smooth Transitions, which incorporated in 2010, stemmed in part from personal concerns.

Jeanada Nolan left her family an extraordinary gift: She planned and expressed her end-of-life wishes. But while many Americans say they want to die without aggressive medical care, that's often not what happens.

The morning's activities were in full swing at the Sutter SeniorCare program in south Sacramento, and the adult day health clients had gathered in the dining room for coffee.

For many Sacramento region residents, art is the second act of a creative life. Retiring from longtime professional careers has given them time to pursue their earlier and continuing interest in art.

Thousands of the north state's rural poor, including residents of the greater Sacramento area, will be able to access medical care in 2012 after more than 30 counties received federal approval and funding to expand their indigent health coverage.

Artists for Alzheimer's, a nonprofit that organizes museum tours for Alzheimer's patients to reach into the thick shroud of dementia and spark their imaginations – and perhaps their memories.

Greet the "Flying Tiger," Effie Yeaw's latest animal resident, a young great horned owl. Learn how these birds earned their fearsome nickname.

Family caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease or dementia are invited to submit applications for a contest with the prize of a family reunion.

Sacramento County public health officials said Tuesday that residents of elder care facilities have tested positive for the norovirus, a highly contagious illness that's especially hard on the elderly and the very young.

For Sacramento County's Adult Protective Services staff, the busiest time of year is drawing near.

Al Churchill's first car was a Model T.

In what's become an annual holiday tradition, the Sacramento office of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management invites Sacramento's older adults to make free holiday phone calls to loved ones worldwide Saturday.

The Wednesday deadline to enroll in Medicare health care and prescription drug plans is fast approaching, and health officials are urging Sacramento area seniors and other Medicare recipients to heed the date.

Seniors and high-risk individuals can receive the flu vaccine at community flu clinics in Walnut Grove, Isleton and Sacramento. The shots are sponsored by the Sacramento County Public Health Immunization Assistance Program.

Seniors trying to wade through the complicated process of choosing a Medicare Advantage plan have a new tool this year.

After a decade of hot flashes, Donna Anderson would like answers.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 6,000 women reach menopause each day, and the majority come to know the discomfort of hot flashes

The IRS is seeking thousands of volunteers who can help low-income and elderly get free tax preparation.

The old men, soldiers once upon an awful time, stood as proud as age would allow.

The Rev. Earl Chambers celebrated 70 years in the pulpit and is one of the longest-serving ministers in the area. It would be hard to find anyone in the Church of Christ who has preached more.

An earlier than usual open enrollment period has brought some added stress for Medicare beneficiaries this year, particularly for those who venture into the complicated world beyond the traditional model.

Sitting across from volunteer Art McGrath in a fourth-grade classroom at Lincoln's First Street School, Martina Ortega glanced down at her math class worksheet and quietly told him her multiplication answer: 34.

California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform hosts a symposium this week in Sacramento on long-term care facilities' use of powerful anti-psychotic medications on older adults with dementia.

Pharmacists will review older adults' prescriptions and over-the-counter medications at an upcoming event called Script Your Future, sponsored by the Area 4 Agency on Aging, the Pharmacy Foundation of California and other organizations.

Now beginning its 10th season, "Aging and Medical Science: A Mini Medical School to Prepare for Life's Second Half" teaches its students what normal aging is and how to deal with a range of older-age medical problems – and it emboldens them to speak up to their own physicians.

Most Californians aren't prepared for a future that requires expensive help if they're too ill to care for themselves. Recent studies show that much of the aging public remains in denial about the potential need for long-term care.

As part of a pioneering research study designed to examine the subtle and gradual changes that occur in the aging brain even before the onset of Alzheimer's disease, the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center campus in Martinez is recruiting volunteer participants.

Terry Bradburn, a 64-year-old widow, was No. 176 in line at Liberty Ministries Christian Fellowship's food pantry in North Sacramento on a recent Thursday, waiting for her allotment of salad mix, fresh pineapple, dried and canned beans, bagels and coffee cake.

The early adopters – all 75 or so of them – are already wired into Eskaton Village Carmichael's new eLiving resident portal, a self-contained social networking site.

Older adults interested in continuing to drive their vehicles safely are invited to attend an interactive workshop Oct. 19 on maintaining the physical and mental skills that support good driving.

Under its SeniorNet program, the Ethel M. Hart Senior Center has announced its schedule of computer classes for older adults, with orientation and registration planned for 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 4.

These days, there's nothing slow about senior apartments. Thanks to a flagging economy and a growing number of retirees on fixed incomes, there are waiting lists for projects produced by a number of major builders in the region.