His novel, One Last Dance: It’s Never Too Late to Fall in Love, begun at age 92 is a testament to this belief.

When he was 88, after over six decades as a journalist, he bought a computer, learned word processing and began writing a biography/memoir of his mother (our grandmother), whose life spanned 110 years.

Two years later, Maude (1883-1993): She Grew Up with the Country was published. Although the memoir reflects the challenges and changes of the 20 century as experienced by one family, as one reviewer stated, it “puts a human face on history.” In 2001, he was awarded an Ohioana Library Citation for this book and his 44-year career in journalism.

Next, after writing his whimsical book of children’s stories, Great Grandpa Fussy and the Little Puckerdoodles, Dad decided at the age of 92 to try something completely different—a novel.

The first draft of One Last Dance was a challenge as Dad’s health began to fail and macular degeneration robbed him of his vision. Nearing completion of the first draft, frail and ill, he asked us, his daughters, to finish the book if he could not. We promised.

When Dad died, we didn’t know if we could honor our promise. We pulled ourselves together and, over the course of two years, revised Dad’s manuscript. One Last Dance was published in 2005 and won an Independent Publishers’ Award.

Now we’re traveling with our program, Keep Dancing! hoping to inspire others with Dad’s wonderful philosophy, Live life to its fullest, no matter what your age or condition.

Mardo’s daughters, Kay & Jerri

For more information, please visit www.calliopepress.com.