At 83, This Nurse Still Works: Why She Won't Retire

At 83 years old, Barbara Ford is not slowing down. She continues to work in the medical field, driven by a philosophy that has guided her entire life: if you have knowledge, you should share it.

Her career path has been anything but linear. From a hospital board clerk to a registered nurse, a long-haul truck driver, and now a patient advocate, Ford has consistently sought ways to remain productive and helpful.

If you know how to do something and somebody is struggling, then lend a hand and help them.

Her current role allows her to work from home, a new chapter that excites her. It is a continuation of a working life that began decades ago and shows no signs of ending.

Barbara Ford's first job was as a board clerk at the University of Rochester's hospital. She knew she wanted to be a nurse, so she attended community college to earn her registered nurse license.

She remembers the feeling vividly: "my feet flying through the air because this was my dream." After earning her RN in two years, she worked in pediatrics at the same hospital. As her three children grew, she became a certified school nurse before returning to the hospital.

Her career advanced steadily. She worked her way up to assistant director of nursing at a community hospital. Later, she moved to Virginia, working in an emergency room and eventually becoming the head nurse on a med-surg unit.

She retired from nursing in 1990, but her working life was far from over. After retiring, she attended truck driving school and hit the road with her husband.

For 21 years, Barbara and her husband drove a semi-truck across the country. They bought their own truck and leased it to a company in Missouri, hauling government explosives.

The schedule was demanding. "He drove at night, and I drove during the day," she recalled. They lived in a space the size of a good-sized bathroom, a lifestyle she accepted without complaint.

They came off the road about 14 years ago. Ford then went back to school for a year to refresh her nursing skills and entered hospice care.

"Hospice was where I'd always wanted to be," she said. "I took the roundabout way to get there, but everything that I did on the way was preparation for it." However, due to age and balance issues, she had to stop direct patient care, particularly lifting patients.

Despite leaving bedside care, Ford refused to stop working. She was called to assist with office paperwork at a health agency over a year ago. What was supposed to be temporary turned into a regular job.

She worked auditing charts and checking nurses' notes, typically from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Now, she is starting a new position as a patient advocate for a healthcare company.

She is excited about the new role, which she will perform from home. For Ford, work is not just about money; it is about utility.

My husband doesn't want me to quit. He doesn't need me to sit around and stare at him.

She finds joy in the routine and the ability to contribute. When asked why she doesn't retire and travel, she points to her past life on the road. She has already seen the country; now, she wants to see what she can do for her community.

While work is a priority, family is the foundation. Barbara and her husband have been married for nearly 64 years. He is 88 and recently retired from a school system job due to health issues, though he would have kept working otherwise.

The couple raised five children—four biological and one adopted from foster care. They helped their kids and grandchildren financially along the way, even if it meant they weren't "millionaires."

"Had we kept it all to ourselves, we'd probably be better off financially, but I don't regret one single thing," she said.

Regarding finances, they rely on Social Security and a small retirement account from her hospital days. The extra income from her current job is helpful for small luxuries, like weekly dinners with her sister.

Barbara Ford is acutely aware of how society views older adults. She dislikes the assumption that age equates to incompetence.

"I hate the feeling that because I'm older, people think I can't remember," she said. "People think I can't learn and have to be taken care of."

Physically, she faces challenges. She walks with a cane and has had one knee replacement, though she is reluctant to have the other done. She needs help standing up, but she remains fiercely independent.

Her husband takes care of his own medicines and manages himself well, though he can no longer do yard work. Their children help with physical tasks, but Ford maintains her agency. She wants to avoid reaching a point where she cannot care for herself, and working keeps her mind and body engaged.

Barbara Ford’s story challenges the traditional view of retirement. For her, stopping work means losing a sense of purpose.

She asks, "What are you going to do for the day? Are you going to sit and watch the grass grow?" She believes that productivity is essential for a fulfilling life.

Her husband agrees. He supports her career because he understands that she needs to be useful. "We're trying to keep our lives as normal as we can," she noted.

At 83, Barbara Ford is a testament to the idea that age is just a number. As long as she can contribute, she will continue to work, proving that experience and knowledge are valuable assets at any stage of life.