Warren and Barbara Cain

“We always thought Virginia was beautiful,” Barbara says. “The healthcare at UVA is outstanding and there’s lots of history around, which we love.”

The two built their home and their daughter helped with the interior design. Wanting to support regional companies, the Cains used art and furniture from local artists and craftsmen; their slate countertops and fieldstone exterior came from Virginia.

In their retirement years, the Cains have not slowed down. They enjoy volunteering for numerous organizations and gathering with friends and neighbors for group activities. Warren plays golf, serves on the advisory board at Keswick Estate and volunteers at church. Barbara, who was part of the International Piano Competition while living in Hilton Head, has been able to continue utilizing her passion for music as a guild and board member of the Ash Lawn Opera. She also participates in exercise classes and relaxes by the pool when her grandchildren visit.

“If you sit around and think, ‘I’m retired, therefore I’m going to wind down,’” Warren says, “then you’ll wind down. Or, you can stay active and not miss a beat.”

Since moving to Charlottesville three years ago, the Cains say they have been able to get out and enjoy the town, as well as travel to Washington, D.C., and they take a train from Charlottesville to New York at least once a year.

“We still haven’t gotten to everything yet,” Barbara says. “But we will.”

Betty Joe Fulcher

Although Fulcher has been a member of the Blue Ridge Arts and Theater Society (BRATS) since the 1980s, she gained more time to pursue her love of performing after retiring in January 2008. She also joined TheatreWorks – a group in Martinsville dedicated to bringing community theater to the area – and promotes their various productions.

Fulcher joined her first play for BRATS in 1988 when a cast member got “cold feet.” It may have been a small part, she recalls, but she was hooked from that day forward.

“I was so nervous, but the first time you hear the audience laugh, it’s worth everything you put into it,” she says. “It’s nice to know you’re making someone happy.”

Since then, she has participated in about 14 plays, mostly Southern comedies. BRATS, which is an all-volunteer organization, typically spends about three months preparing for productions. The cast-mates, Fulcher says, have become a built-in support group, as have the members of TheatreWorks.

“I enjoy being a member of both groups.” Fulcher says, “I do it because I love the community and want to give back.”

In addition to BRATS and TheatreWorks, Fulcher volunteers for Martinsville’s Piedmont Arts Association. She promotes the artwork, answers phones, mails announcements about exhibits and performs various duties as a member of their docent guild. Obviously, retirement has not slowed her down.

“You absolutely have to stay active,” she advises. “Volunteering is fun. There are so many organizations around town that do good things for people, you just have to investigate the possibilities.

“Find something that feeds your psyche and let it become your passion.”

The more than 80 pages describe his memories of high school, college and his passion for flying, which led to service in World War II. He also touches on marrying his late wife Dreama Anne and reflects on the meaning of his life.

Joe Johnson

“Life, to me, is learning to adjust constantly, as required, and being prepared to meet the future,” he writes.

Johnson retired from the military after 30 years of service in 1972, but his working days were far from over. He spent many years working in real estate and appraisal for Wingate Appraisal Services.

“You don’t really ever retire,” he says. “I hate to sit around and do nothing. Many people look forward to retiring, but I didn’t. I needed something to keep me busy.”

In his early years of retirement, Johnson says he and his wife traveled frequently. They took long trips every year, such as spending a month in Europe and Canada. He spent many years as a volunteer for the Blood Mobile and also enjoyed fishing and hunting until he was no longer able. He still serves as a member of the Masonic Lodge.

These days, Johnson gets up at 5 a.m., makes breakfast and is out the door by 7:30 a.m. He typically can be found at Wingate Appraisal Services, where he retreats to work on his next book.

“It’s about the mischief I got into when I was younger, and the bigger mischief I got into when I got older,” he says.

Ted and Bonita Johnson

The couple retired in 2007 from the Washington, DC area and their vacation home at Smith Mountain Lake became their permanent one. They had visited the area 10 years ago, fell in love with it, and eventually bought a home that they have since renovated and expanded.

Pre-retirement, “we knew we wanted to live on water and had thought about the Outer Banks,” Ted explains. “But the lake is beautiful and so clear; it’s wonderful.”

“We chose it over the beach because we like the change of seasons,” Bonita adds. “We love the mountains and are constantly in awe of how gorgeous the scenery is around here.”

The Johnsons take advantage of the many activities available around the lake; Ted enjoys golf and Bonita is a volunteer for the Smith Mountain Lake Charity Home Tour. They joined Waterfront Golf & Country Club and laud the opportunities available through their church. Bonita acknowledges it would be easy to “hunker down” in the house after retiring, but she and Ted knew that was not the lifestyle for them.

“You go from a lifestyle of nonstop to a lifestyle of a different pace,” Ted says. “You get used to the traveling, working, raising a family, but you have to be willing to give up the fast pace, which I had no problem with.”

He suggests taking up a few hobbies and, of course, enjoying the company of your spouse. The two plan many activities and outings together.

“We have lunch together now,” Bonita laughs. “We never really got to do that before.”

Recently, the Johnsons have been substitute teaching for Bedford County schools. Next fall, Bonita will teach a pre-K class three mornings a week.

“We live somewhere where there’s plenty to do,” Ted says, “but the winters can get nippy. It’s nice to get out and work with young people” during the colder seasons.

Will and Carol Sawyer

“Retirement is not a time to sit around and do nothing,” says Will, who retired from Exxon at the age of 57. Carol was a stay-at-home mom and raised the couple’s four children.

Early on as retirees, the Sawyers took seminary courses in Texas and had plans to be missionaries in China. But the protests at Tiananmen Square halted that trip. After moving to Bent Mountain in 1993, they became involved with Biblical Education by Extension (now Entrust), which helps train young men in Eastern European countries to become pastors.

“Two or three times a year, we would travel to Romania,” Will says. The program “was a great way to give those men theological education.”

These days, the Sawyers travel less often, content with the activities they can enjoy locally. When they moved to their “retirement headquarters in the Blue Ridge Mountains,” as Will describes their home,” Carol decided to try her hand at the cello, which she had played as a child. She took lessons and now plays with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, the Blacksburg Community Strings and at her church, First Baptist in Roanoke.

“I have a love affair with the cello,” she says. “I had wondered if I could learn again, and it’s been a wonderful experience. Had he (Will) not been my encourager, I might not have tried it again.”

Will teaches Sunday School at First Baptist, as well as four Bible-based courses at Ebenezer Baptist Church for the Washington Bible College Equip Program. Together, he and Carol visit assisted living facilities and nursing homes every week; she plays music and he tells Bible stories to the residents. Once a month, they are joined by other friends and sing hymns with the residents.

“We’ve had a good life,” Will says. When he reaches the pearly gates, he says he wants to hear, “well done, you’ve been a good and faithful servant.