I had the honor of attending the 25th anniversary of a client in the chemicals and coatings business last week. One of the speakers noted that the company’s work in reproductive technology could be directly traced to the birth of 20,000 children: quite a legacy. But the story of this company illustrates what I’ve been writing about for a while: the meaning of retirement today.

The founder of this company had a long career with a chemical manufacturer, and retired more than 35 years ago, at age 65, with retirement benefits and assets that ensured a comfortable lifestyle for himself and his family. But for him, retirement from that lifetime (almost) of work did not mean an end to his interest in research and development of products. He began by writing to local universities and colleges, offering his services in whatever capacity they felt appropriate. Most were not interested, but one small local college took him up on his offer. Out of that came his idea to develop new types of coatings for surgical instruments and chemicals that were useful in reproductive technology. It was not an overnight success, so it was fortunate that he had his retirement benefits. Almost 10 years passed before the company began to earn a significant income. Little by little, more growth, more people were hired. At the time of his death, almost two years ago, at about 98 years of age, the founder could see the fruits of his years of labor, and last week his colleagues, now numbering 60, could trace their employment, and the company’s prosperity, to his desire to continue making a contribution in life.

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