Senior Spotlight

Cheers to you… Judi Hussain

There’s an old saying that says “good things come in small packages!”

I couldn’t agree more, as my friend (Judi) happens to be one of those “small packages”.

Everything she touches, she seems to become good at… or even more proficient at.

Yet to speak with her, she views her many skills as “hobbies” and her life as more cautious than

she would have liked it to have been…

Judi was born “a few” years ago in Los Angeles California, and spent most of her childhood in

Southern California as an “only child” with her parents. Moving around (at inopportune times)

gave Judi the will to get a job at a travel agency specializing in tourism to Mexico.

It was this job that opened up the world to Judi. Judi’s summers were spent in Mexico learning

the local language and living the culture. Judi dated several foreign men and eventually married

a Pakistani man. She and her small daughter lived with her husband and his Pakistani family for

awhile and later returned to the states.

As time and life experiences would have it… Judi and her (now) two grown daughters

vacationed at Bass Lake in 1989. The 2 of them fell in love with the region, and four months

later… Judi and one grown daughter became Eastern Madera County home owners! (* the

other grown daughter remains an entrenched city dweller )

Now, if you were to run into Judi in the grocery store up here you would say:

“Do I know you from The Visitor Bureau? Chamber of Commerce?, ECCO?, Real Estate Office?,

Java News?, Sierra News Online?... Why do I know you?????

If you ever had a question about Yosemite, Eastern Madera County, hiking trails, camping sites

and even animal scat… Judi was your source!

Judi has been able to use her writing skills in virtually every job she has ever held, yet she still

considers her writing as a hobby. She was paid for the articles she wrote, for a “true

confessions” magazine she wrote and a 1800 Historical novel as well as other trade articles

along the way. Whether she had been paid for her writing skills or contributed them to the

community through her desire to better our region, Judi proves that even a hobby can be just

the skill one may need to succeed in life.

That being said… there probably hasn’t been a staircase unclimbed or trail – un-walked both

locally and/or in Israel, Egypt, Turkey Alaska, Mexico and the Middle East (until recently) that

Judi hasn’t trekked. Everything is interesting, and no stone should be left unturned!

She is currently studying Turkish, Hebrew, and keeping up on her Spanish while periodically

working on her English in her spare time!

Judi loves Dog Sledding ( Yep, you heard me DOG SLEDDING). Don’t we all??? She knows the

teams, the dogs, the routes and the culture of the sport. She’s been to Alaska 5 times to follow

the sport, and recently follows it through the comfort of the internet.

Her quiet times revolve around Beading. I can’t even see the beads, yet she can put them

together and create these beautiful pieces of jewelry… piece by piece…priceless particles of

color that become beautiful pieces of art.

One question I did ask Judi was that “If she could share just one “Pearl of Wisdom” to the youth

of today, what would it be?” She had to think about it for a minute, but then she thought about

her life as she shared that she felt that she had held herself back when she was young.

“Follow your dreams when you are young, because age doesn’t make it any easier…”

This writer believes that Judi’s advise may be right, but easy doesn’t always make it fun 

If you know of anyone who would be a great local senior for me to interview please give me a

call – Lori Howard (559) 683-7650

Cheers to You

Welcome to a New Year and a new column…

This is where YOU are spotlighted, treasured and looked at in a whole new light!

No longer are you the “invisible senior”, but the whole person that came before the person

we see today.

So, buckle up sports fans as we delve into the amazing life and times of our first truly

amazing senior … Jerry Rehard

When it comes to the Academy of Awards in Life…Jerry stole the Best of Show for Easy

Rider…The King of Drama in General Hospital… Hallmark has nothing on us! (For an

amazing love story…) as well as the the “Bake Because You Can” award! But it wasn’t

always so simple for Jerry…

Living with 2 parents and 2 older sisters in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom home, 10 years later being

born into a basic L.A. family, little Jerry made an entrance in 1953.

Jerry was always taught to “work hard and always show up”. He followed that belief through life.

Jerry’s Dad shared time and interest in him by taking him to the desert and racing motorcycles,

keeping him interested in mechanics and the biking sports during those hard teen years. Jerry’s

Mom died (unexpectedly) he believes now from probable hereditary kidney failure which

understandably effected the dynamics of the family. Biking, still a passion…work became a

direction.

Jerry found his first part time job at age 16, and continued to find various other jobs along the

way on assembly lines and eventually at Container Corporation in Bakersfield where he was

destined to meet his lovely wife and angel…Cathy

Now many of us wives would love for our husbands to revere us as their angel… but Cathy has

earned this title…

Jerry and Cathy met by chance, fell in love, and were married in 1982.

They both worked full time, bought a home together in Bakersfield, bought a motorcycle and a

enjoyed a lot of sailing but something was missing… they started to work on the family…but

then…

Jerry was diagnosed with Kidney failure - October 1993.

Neither of his sisters were good candidates for a kidney transplant, so a general call for anyone

interested in testing to see if they would be compatible as a transplant candidate went out. Even

Cathy tested to see if she could be compatible. Amazingly enough, Cathy had enough key

matching components that could offer potential transfer kidney success. Jerry would receive one

of Cathy’s kidney’s in a life saving surgery!!

Thirty-one years later, Cathy and Jerry still celebrate their kidney anniversary on each and every

March 18 th . They have enjoyed life together here in Oakhurst after moving 24 years ago to

pursue jobs at the “then new Rite Aid” (Cathy) and as a bus driver for the school district and

local tourism group. (Jerry)

Although life has calmed down a little (with the boating and motorcycles in particular ) Jerry

has become quite well known for his bread baking skills, and is now periodically requested as an

instructor for occasional baking demonstrations.

To know Jerry is to appreciate his optimism, calm, kindness and gratefulness to be alive… to

enjoy each day as it comes. This, you see, is the award of life…

If you know of someone who would be a great (local) senior to write about, let me know

Lori Howard- (559)683-7650