A Model Resident Who's Young at Heart

05/11/2009

Stan Goldman, a proud former "Brooklynite," enjoyed every minute of his upbringing in New York, and took advantage of everything the city had to offer. It seems that living life to its fullest is how Stan operates, and retirement has been no different. After careers in educational sales and then teaching, Stan retired at seventy-two. "It was time. I wanted to do other things," says Stan.

Stan retired six or seven years ago, after working for the Department of Corrections in Connecticut. "I was in jail for many years," jokes Stan, who used his graduate degree in English from NYU to help inmates earn their GEDs. "It was enormously gratifying," says Stan, who says he still goes back to sing at graduations.

He has many interests and participates in a number of organizations, including the Longmeadow Cultural Council and the Democratic Town Committee, but a love of music and theatre remains a consistent theme.

Stan's love of theatre began in childhood, when his two sisters-who he says spoiled him-often took him to see Broadway shows. While he would have loved to have tried to make a living in the theatre, his practical side brought him back to reality. However, he has always performed, beginning in high school and continuing throughout adulthood. During college he took classes at the famed Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre, where Gregory Peck also studied. And in 1982 he won a "best actor" award for a supporting role from the Community Theatre Association of Northern Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.

Stan loves all kinds of music, but is particularly fond of jazz and classical. You'll find a baton on a music stand in his living room. "I secretly conduct symphonies, which is great exercise and is a great workout for my imagination," he says. Stan auditioned for the Young@Heart Chorus, which he describes as "a group of elderly rockers," at the suggestion of a friend, and enjoys "the camaraderie and the fun." He has been with the group about four years, and is astounded at the media attention they've received, including appearances on the Tonight Show and the Ellen DeGeneres show. "I've sat on Ellen's couch," Stan says.

Stan's first exposure to Glenmeadow was when, along with some of his fellow Young@Heart Chorus members, he served as a model for photos being taken for marketing literature. Stan moved to Glenmeadow in February and is now taking advantage of everything Glenmeadow has to offer. "I'm enjoying the diversity of activities that are offered here. I've become a regular at the exercise classes, and I'm pleasantly surprised at the number of music programs."

Stan's wife Vivian ("vivacious Vivian," as he describes her) passed away in 1987. He enjoys his two grandchildren from his daughter Leah, who lives in Belmont. He also has a son, Herrick, who lives in Brooklyn.