Our Top 5 Retirement Rebels

In one of Mike Drak's articles, he shared the idea that retirement rebels "...are the trailblazers who are putting their own spin on retirement “rules” and are in the process of showing the world what people are capable of."

We have been very fortunate to have found a number of inspiring retirement rebels over the past year. Here are just five of our favourites.

Racing to Beat Early Alzheimers

When people receive a life altering diagnosis, it’s natural to only think of the negative. This was no different for Catherine Popp and Tony Copeland-Parker.

In her 50’s, Catherine was diagnosed with early-onset Alzhemizer’s disease. When they received her diagnosis, Catherine and her life partner Tony’s initial reaction was that life as they knew it was going to come to a screeching halt.

As they were both avid marathon runners, they began to think that this part of life was also now over. But rather then going in this direction, they decided to dedicate their lives to pursuing their dream of running a marathon in 50 states.

They have since closed this goal and are now travelling the United States with a new goal to run half marathons in 50 states.

As Tony shared with me, “A diagnosis is not a death sentence but in fact a life sentence.”.

Here is their inspiring story.

The Unfinished Business of Wally Funk

In 1961 Wally Funk was the youngest member of the “Mercury 13,” a group of 13 women tested and trained for NASA’s astronaut program at the height of the space race. But she was denied a spot four times because of the discriminatory policies preventing women from becoming astronauts even though she had passed the same grueling physical and psychological tests as her male counterparts.

But in 2021 she changed this - and history - and became the oldest person who went to space.

You can read more about Wally and why we believe she is truly a retirement rebel here.

Don't Act Your Age - Sister Madonna Buder

Meet Sister Madonna Buder. She is now ninety years old but her athletic feats are nothing but astonishing. At 82, she was the oldest woman to ever finish an Ironman.

We were delighted to share her story of how she broke boundaries by becoming a older nun who started to run marathons. She also shares some of her philosophies on life.

"Any anxiety is developed by worrying about the future of which none of us really have control. So that brings me back to the present. I will make the most of the here and now." 

A wonderful retirement rebel indeed.

Learn more about Sister Madonna Buder here.

Racing For A Dream in Retirement

Our next retirement rebel is none other than one of our Senior Contributors and well known author - Mike Drak.

Mike has taken on the personal challenge of competing in an Iron Man competition in November 2022 and shares how he plans to get there.

Mike is a true retirement rebel pioneer and his two best selling retirement books, Victory Lap Retirement and Retirement Heaven or Hell - Which Will You Choose highlight ways to do this.

Read more about Mike's journey to Iron Man. We will certainly be cheering him on!

100 Year Old Captain Sir Tom Moore Walked For Others

We remember a retirement rebel who passed this year. 

Captain Sir Tom Moore accepted a challenge from his family to walk 100 laps around his garden by his 100th birthday with the intention to help raise money to support the National Health Service (NHS) in England.

His initial goal was to raise £1,000 for health care charities doing this during the pandemic. To his surprise, by the time he closed his fundraising page when he turned 100, he had raised more than £32m from more than one-and-a-half-million global donors. But he also raised much more than this, he raised people's spirits and provided inspiration during the pandemic as so many cheered from the sidelines for his efforts across the world.

Sir Tom Moore passed away of COVID-19 on February 2, 2021. But his legacy of giving continues on. 

He was truly a remarkable retirement rebel. Here's more of his story.

We hope that these individuals help to inspire you to find your inner retirement rebel and pursue something that brings you happiness and joy.