Joan Holtzman
— Late last August, at a community party in a nearby park, I chatted with my neighbor Florence. I told her that the OWL was planning to look at the issue of Staying Put or Moving On and the various ways people make these decisions. I remember that she smiled. A few days later, her daughter Ginny appeared at my door and handed me a book: Around the World in 80 Years, The Oldest Man to Sail Alone Around the World —Twice! Ginny told me it was written by Florence’s brother and that it might be an interesting read. I was intrigued but didn’t have a chance to get to it until recently. Only then did I learn about Harry’s many ways of moving on. Here are some of the details that make his story unusual.
When he retired at the of age 55, Harry Heckel Jr., along with his wife, Faido, decided to move and live on their sailboat, the Idle Queen. For several years, the couple cruised the seas – down both coasts into the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal, visiting many ports of call. When Faido contracted cancer their sailing life was suspended: first so that Faido could receive treatment; later when she was dying and the decision was made to live on land, close to their adult children.
Of course, Harry was devastated when Faido died and “at sea”, figuratively, for sometime. Eventually, he decided to move on, live again on the Idle Queen and return, literally, to the sea, He also set himself the enormous challenges of which the title of his book speaks. He was 78 when he did his first tour and 89 when he completed the second. Returning to land for his final chapter, he lived with his son and wrote his book (with the help of his daughter). You can learn about his many adventures, the people he met and the 45 countries he visited by reading the book. It can be found on Amazon.
But Florence is the real focus of this piece and it is her story I want tell now. Apart from being a close neighbor, she is one of the original members of the Eichler community in which we live. She and her husband bought their house in 1950 and she lives there still with her daughter and, more recently, with a former neighbor who dropped in to watch TV several months ago and now sleeps on a sofa in the den. There is also a new cat in residence, unwanted elsewhere. I think it is fair to say that Florence is the matriarch of our “aging in place’” core group. Moreover, she has been, and remains, significantly engaged in the world beyond our neighborhood.
A nurse who worked at Stanford until she retired, Florence La Riviere is a life-long environmentalist and conservationist. She became interested in preserving San Francisco Bay’s Wetlands in the 1960s and worked tirelessly with other citizens and legislators to bring about the creation of the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in 1972. This was the first ever urban wetlands refuge and comprised 20,000 acres. Recognizing that more needed to be done, Florence then organized the Citizen’s Committee to Complete the Refuge which managed to double the size of the refuge by 2012.
Her work did not go unnoticed. She was nationally recognized for her efforts and received an award from the Environmental Law iInstitute. She was 88 at the time. Today Florence continues to be an inspiration to others, speaking and being honored again this October at the 50th anniversary of what is now known as the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Florence will turn 99 in December.
Here is a recent photo from the event: and an apposite comment.
“Isn’t it wonderful to have something to celebrate, when there’s so much to weep over these days?” Florence LaRiviere said. Photo credit: Steven Nguyen/USFWS