Audrea was born in the town where she still lives in North central Missouri. She had never lived on a farm until she married a farmer. After 23 years of farming, her husband developed macular degeneration, and they moved to town. She had been working at the local hospital for about 5 years at that time, and she continued to do so after moving to town. Audrea and her husband have four children, eleven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. They will celebrate their 57th wedding anniversary this fall. She is 75 (she retired five years ago at age 70), and her husband will be 80 in the fall.

A very busy woman, Audrea does much volunteer work on elderly issues. She also takes care of her home and helps her husband care for their big yard. She has a green thumb, with lots of flowers and houseplants.

While Audrea and her husband have traveled a lot, they have made their first priority getting acquainted with their home state - Missouri. They have also been to the West Coast, to Mexico, Canada, and Alaska. They are planning to visit Alaska again as their youngest child lives there. Although they still attend church some, they are not as involved in church as they used to be.

When asked what makes her feel good about what she does, Audrea replied, "I feel like what I'm doing [volunteering] is helping other people. That's what I was raised to do. It's what my mother did. And what makes her feel bad? "There are only 24 hours in a day, and I could use 24 more most of the time. You see so much to be done, and you can't do it all."

Audrea got involved in volunteering, she said, "Because I never learned to shake my head 'no'." But she continues to volunteer because "Staying involved keeps you from deteriorating." She loves her family, which she describes as a strong unit. She likes to cook, and she and her husband love to dance. They used to square dance, but Audrea hurt her shoulder several years ago, and has never regained full strength back in it. So now they enjoy ballroom dancing.

Her husband and family are the two most meaningful things in Audrea's life. She would describe successful aging to someone else as being the result of: "Having faith in the Lord and in yourself. Also, keep busy, and try not to worry!" She thinks others might think of her as aging successfully because of her faith, her belief in herself, and the fact that she stays busy.

When asked what she credits her longevity to, Audrea said, "A lot of it is probably genetic. Both of my grandmas lived to be 91."

Audrea's advice on coping with a challenge: "Just meet it head on. Do what has to be don and have faith in yourself." Although she has been called a 'worry wart' she still believes that when things are not going quite as you think they should you are wise to "Just try to make the best of the situation and go from there." And, if you're feeling 'down': "Get busy at something!"

She owns a computer, although it is quite old and doesn't have enough power to do much anymore. She does still use it some. As far as preparation for her aging years, Audrea says, "I really didn't think much about it. I had retirement benefits at the hospital where I worked. And, we were very active in church work and in the Moose organization - so we had many friends through those sources."

When asked if she felt they had adequate income to do most of the things they really wanted to do, she replied "Yes we do." She and her husband are still active in the Moose organization, and Audrea belonged to several professional organizations prior to her retirement. "One thing I'm especially proud of is having been a Red Cross volunteer since 1940. I also serve on several senior boards." Both Audrea and her husband are Silver Haired Legislators. "I was also very fortunate to receive the Governor's Award for Distinguished Older Missourian in 1994, in recognition of my volunteerism. And, in 1992, I was given the International Co-worker Award by the Moose organization for my volunteer work."

As for lifelong learning, Audrea earned a degree in Medical Records just two months prior to her 50th birthday. In 1996 she was listed in the National Directory of Professionals' Who's Who.

Audrea's first job was with J.C. Penney, where she worked during high school. After high school she went to the local telephone office and worked as a switchboard operator until she married. She moved to the farm as a new bride and was an active partner in her husband's farming operation for 23 years. She said, "Another achievement I'm quite proud of is the fact that as a girl who had never set foot on a farm until I started dating my husband, I received the Outstanding Farm Woman Award for Missouri in 1960." She also serves on the ambulance district board, and has done so for 18 years. "All of this certainly helped me prepare for a productive retirement. And, it also gave me my retirement and Social Security retirement benefits. Being with and serving other people during my employed years played a big part in what I'm doing now."

The hospital where she worked for many years made lots of pre-retirement workshops and planning seminars available to its employees. Audrea took advantage of several.

Living in the same area for so many years, most of their friends are people they have known for life. Some have been in the professional field, some are from church, and many are neighbors. Audrea has a positive frame of mind. She said, "I believe in myself and what I do. I continue to read and study and fill my mind with good things - not trash! Has her frame of mind changed? "Maybe some, but probably not that much," she responded. As to what she would change if she could live her life over, she thought for a moment, then said, "I probably wouldn't do a thing differently. I have had a rich and full life, I've had faith in the Lord and in myself, I've loved myself and my fellow man, and I've kept busy."

Her closing advise on Successful Aging was, "Look around you. You can always find somebody in worse shape than you!"