Ann Dunn, 77

I grew up in Omaha and was a student at Creighton University when I met and married Mike. We recently celebrated our 55th anniversary. In the early 1980s, I returned to school at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with honors, and a specialty in business information systems. With this degree, I worked at Mutual of Omaha for 20 years in information technology.  

The one great sorrow in our lives was the loss of our son, Timothy, in 1988 in an automobile accident. Our other three children have blessed us with 11 wonderful grandchildren. We love seeing them frequently and being a part of each of their lives.  

Through the years, I have enjoyed many different pursuits including tennis, skiing, running (now walking), golf (which I took up at the age of 70 and have achieved a hole-in-one), gardening, exercising, cooking, entertaining family and friends, reading, playing cards, mahjong, and travel. I treasure long-term friendships and therefore monthly outings are planned with my high school classmates, work friends, and siblings.

My advice for a long life is to exercise daily, eat and drink wisely, and never stop learning. 

We have been blessed with a great family, good health, and wonderful friends. Life is good.

Michael J Dunn, M.D., 79

I grew up in Lead, South Dakota, in the northern Black Hills. I came to Omaha in 1957 to attend Creighton University for pre-med studies and then attended the Creighton University School of Medicine. After graduation in 1964, I completed four years of internal medicine residency training and entered private practice in 1968. I became board-certified in internal medicine and, subsequently, became a fellow of the American College of Medicine and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. After retiring from private practice in 2004, I became a principal investigator at Quality Clinical Research, where I have worked part time for the past 12 years.

The greatest joys and loves in my life have been my wife, Ann, our four children, and 11 grandchildren. I have enjoyed skiing since the age of 10, upland bird hunting, salmon fishing in Alaska, scuba diving, running (I have completed one marathon), and now stretching exercises and walking. I have enjoyed refinishing old furniture, some stone masonry work, gardening, and swimming pool maintenance (I’m the cabana boy for our backyard pool).  Through the years I’ve kept up with reading current medical literature, and I enjoy reading mystery novels as well.

I attribute my success and happiness to my wife, Ann. One must choose their lifelong partner very carefully. I did that for sure.

This article first appeared in the January/February 2019 edition of 60PLUS in Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.