Staying (really, really) Busy in Retirement
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United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County

Staying (really, really) Busy in Retirement

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May 8, 2017

This is the third in our Retire United blog series. Check out our previous Q&A’s with Bev Jurkowski and Scott Pavelchik.

Dennis Sell is retired from United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, where he was Controller for 17 years. Dennis shares how he keeps busy during his retirement, including volunteering with United Way’s Retire United group and self-publishing a 400 page book!  

If you could change one thing about your community, what would it be? I would like to have people be more tolerant and understanding of one another’s views.

As a retiree, where and how are you investing your time and energy?  I wrote a 400-page coffee-table sized book with some 300 pictures on the glory days of my hometown high school boys' basketball team during the 20-year period from 1948 to 1968 in which the team won six conference championships. I am currently working on another book with my hometown's amateur city baseball team as the subject.  I am a member of the board of directors of the Milwaukee Braves' Historical Association and write stories for the organization's quarterly newsletter. I am a statistician for the scoreboard at Miller Park and a contributing editor for the Milwaukee Brewers' yearbook. I am a member of the parish council at St. Stanislaus Parish in Milwaukee. In addition, I am the director of the Marine Bank/Banc One Quarter Century Club.

What is the best life lesson you’ve learned? In the movie "To Kill a Mockingbird," based on the book by Harper Lee, the character Atticus Finch tells his daughter Jean Louise, nicknamed "Scout," that you "really don't know another person until your walk in his shoes."  In other words, you never really understand another person until you consider things from his point of view.

What would people be surprised to learn about you? Probably that I do all my own cooking. While I'm not a gourmet chef, I do know my way around the kitchen.

What would you say to a person who is concerned that they will be bored in retirement? If retirees have extra time beyond hobbies and travelling, I would urge them to volunteer in one of the many opportunities which are available through United Way.

Learn more about the Retire United program and register to attend the 2017 Retiree Day of Service

Browse hundreds of local volunteer opportunities and make the most of your retirement!

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