Is this the new 92? He skis, travels to Europe, works in his yard, adapts to change

SCITUATE − We're used to hearing of retirees who are snowbirds and go to Florida or other warm places for a month or more in the winter.

In Scituate, the social buzz at the senior center has a new variation.

Bruno Richter, who is 92, heads north, not south.

Bruno skied for 20 days last year, including a week at Whistler in British Columbia. In his youth, he did the Alps and once even the Himalayas.

Soon, he'll be heading west again and then returning to ski at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vermont, and slopes in New Hampshire.

"You have to keep moving all the time," he said. "You can't become sedentary."

One of his favorite photos shows him in his 60s, skiing on one leg at Okemo. His left leg was in a cast for the entire season because of a ruptured Achilles tendon.

"I could ski that way because I had skied all my life," he said. "For me, skiing is easier than walking."

He never thinks of his age and doesn't waste energy on worrying.

"One thought that has always guided my life is, 'Do not sweat about what you cannot control.' That way you eliminate destructive anxieties.

"Whether in politics or in business, people get upset because things aren't fair, but don't let it eat away at you."

Bruno and his wife, Janice, 86, moved to Scituate 6½ years ago, leaving their very comfortable retirement home in Port Townsend, Washington, near Seattle, and their son Mark, 51, to be near their two other sons, Eric, 60, and Chris, 55, in Cohasset. Their daughter, Karina, 63, is in Illinois.

"It was hard to leave," Bruno said. "I really liked Washington. But you put things in perspective and see the nice things about where you are."

As a couple, they were used to moving often; each has found a way to settle into their new community.

In Port Townsend, they were both active in an exercise program. Bruno has continued that here, "religiously," with the senior center's chair yoga three times a week. Janice loves to knit and goes to the center's knitting group.

While Janice loves to read, Bruno said, "I can't sit in a chair for an hour and do nothing. That drives me wild. I need to get up and do things."

Five days a week, he is out in their yard, working on the garden, landscaping, building things.

Cooking sauerkraut and kielbasa for Sunday dinner

Both like to cook. On Sunday, Bruno was busy preparing a dinner of sauerkraut and kielbasa, a Polish meat sausage, with ham hocks, "a long process" that came naturally after helping his mother cook when he was growing up.

"I think exercise is very important and it is also very socializing," he said. "At the senior center, we have coffee after class and we talk about everything. And I'm amazed at all the volunteers."

He is puzzled by how few other men are there, believing "men need the exercise as much, if not more so."

Linda Hayes, director of the senior center, described Bruno as "unique" in how he soon became "one of the gang ... that is his gift. He's so personable, likable and fun. He's flexible and he's an inspiration."

Bruno was born in Fussen in Bavaria, Germany, just north of the Austrian border near Neuschwanstein Castle, the inspiration for Disney's Cinderella Castle. He grew up in a town nearby during World War II, "a very tough time," and was 14 when the war ended.

He finished high school in 1950, went to the University of Munich, and was selected for the German collegiate national ski team, where he did all four events: downhill, jumping, slalom and cross country.

While at the university, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the U.S., which he spent at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, where he became a teaching assistant in economics, joined the university ski team and then became its coach.

He met Janice, forgot about plans to return to Germany and began working for Bank of America in San Francisco. On weekends, he coached the University of California ski team.

Work soon took Bruno and his growing family to Brussels, where he was in charge of the Bank of America branch. Next came New York City, where he ran Bank of America International, then another New York bank. He then joined Visa. In 1991, he returned to Europe to manage Visa's German operation in Frankfurt for six years and retired in 1997.

Every year, he travels to Europe alone to visit his sisters and friends.

Janice grew up in a family that moved a great deal; she went to 13 schools in 12 years in this country. She "was used to being by myself," but in her 80s, she wanted to be closer to more family members.

"I know Bruno would have loved to stay in Washington, but we were getting older and I couldn't manage that house by myself," she said. "And there has been another earthquake there since we left, and I had already been through one earthquake!"

They have four grandchildren. The move to Scituate brought them closer to their two youngest granddaughters, 15 and 18.

"It's nice to have my sons just down the road and so nice to have the family over for dinner," Janice said.

Seniors were there: Head of the Weir, Head of the Charles

October is rowing race time in Greater Boston, and seniors have found their place over the years. Congratulations to the members of the Dharma Voyage rowing team from Westport who competed in last week's annual Head of the Weir competition in Hull. The members of the team rowing the wooden pilot gig Spirit of Westport ranged in age from their mid-50s to 83.

The coxswain was Susan Rollins, of Westport, who is 79.

"I set the goal for the rowers of beating last year’s time, and we did, in fact, accomplish that by two minutes (0:59:04) and placed fifth out of 10 boats in that category," Rollins said. "We were all very happy about that. It was a great team effort."

Their coach is Ben Booth, founder and instructor at Dharma Voyage in Westport, who combines rowing and meditation in his training.

The annual Head of the Weir River Race is sponsored by the Hull Lifesaving Museum. The 5½-mile competition drew 47 boats.

This past weekend, masters rowers also competed in the fabled Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge.

Remembering champion rower Marjorie Burgard

On Saturday, the oldest rowers had their day. And it brought back memories of the late Marjorie Burgard, of Duxbury, a former champion scull racer, who took part in the Head of the Charles into her 80s. Burgard won the Head of the Charles Regatta in the women's 70-and-older group in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

Marjorie, affable and patient, gave me a rowing lesson at the Village at Duxbury in 2010.

As her obituary noted, she became a repeat national and international gold medalist in masters rowing and didn’t stop rowing until she was 90. She died in September 2022 at age 93.

Thank you, Marjorie. She is one of the many wonderful older people who were ahead of their time in inspiring others to try new things.

Reach Sue Scheible at sscheible@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: The mountain of youth for retired banker: He skis at 92, no worries