By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, for Health News Colorado
Mary Brandell, 92, learned to drive at age 12, once worked at the Pentagon, loves crossword puzzles, makes a mean lemon pie, plays the piano and taught herself Spanish at 73.
“I vowed I was going to learn. I didn’t take classes. I love books. I love Spanish, so I learned myself,” Brandell said.
Aside from the lingering effects of a hernia operation that sometimes make her sore, Brandell is healthy and independent.
With three hours a week of help from a personal care assistant, Brandell can remain in the Denver home where she plans to stay “until I die.”
Colorado always has been home to a relatively young population, but a demographic earthquake is beginning to cause temblors.
Between 2000 and 2010, Colorado’s overall population grew by 17 percent. At that same time, the percentage of people over age 64 grew twice as fast: 32 percent. Between 2010 and 2020, the population 65 and over is expected to increase by a remarkable 61 percent from about 550,000 to 892,000.
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