Meet the Winners of AARP's 50+ Model Search

60+ Winner

Cosette Bonjour, 61

Home: Kapoho, Hawaii

Lifeline: Yoga

Words To Live By: Living life to the fullest means not living for yourself but looking outward — serving others and bringing out their beauty.

My first husband died of a heart attack at 38. My second husband died of a heart attack at 54 — and he was incredibly fit, ate well and practiced yoga. He died in his sleep on his birthday. And did I mention I had Hodgkin's lymphoma in my 20s?

From these challenges you could learn one of two lessons: You could become fearful, or you could shift your perception and become grateful. I chose the second course.

My second husband and I had moved to Hawaii and constructed an extraordinary hexagonal glass house on the ocean, and I cherished our memories in it, but I needed new challenges.

I had been a graphic designer in New York, and when I turned 50, I began painting seriously, exploring new techniques and media and always returning to the lush beauty of Hawaii. My work is represented by a local gallery. I also teach yoga and exercise with friends every morning.

Healthy living: Yoga in your 50s, 60s and 70s — and beyond

Grieving takes time, and sometimes you need to give yourself over to it. Because when you come out the other side, it can be beautiful. If you look for joy, you find it. I am grateful every day for what I have, and grateful that I have the power to create a new life for myself.

Soon I'll begin training to be a life coach, and I'd like to specialize in helping others deal with grief and also in overcoming cancer. People have this idea that life coaching is about telling people what to do. It's the opposite. It's about listening — because, really, everyone does know what's best for them. It's the process of figuring it out, and doing it, that's valuable.

And of course I want to find my next relationship — just someone who loves to travel, is warm, kind, someone intellectually interesting whom I can have great conversations with — and maybe someone a bit younger than me. I admit, I will be asking about his heart history. Our second date may be at the cardiologist's!

Next page: A soldier turned rodeo reverend. »

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"Men who've been in combat and lived — they've been given a second chance. Me, I've been given more than a dozen chances," says J. Pat Branch.

Ari Michelson

60+ Winner

J. Pat Branch, 65

Home: Kimberly, Idaho

Lifeline: My great God; my wife, Margo; and family

Words to Live by: I can't do everything for everybody all the time, but I can do something for somebody some of the time.

In the 17 months I served in Vietnam, I earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. I earned three Purple Hearts. And people say, "Man, you're a hero." No, what I was was somebody else's target practice.

Frequently I wondered: Why did I come home alive when so many guys I knew didn't?

Over the next four decades I earned a college degree and gave myself over to veterans' advocacy, assisting veterans and their families in receiving health and financial benefits. I've been fortunate to be able to give my time to the food bank, homeless shelters, church activities, and riding programs for the disabled.

When I was younger I rodeoed — rode bulls and broncos and steer-wrestled. I never won a million dollars in rodeo. But I had a million dollars' worth of fun and made $10 million worth of friends. Growing up in cowboy culture, you kinda know who's real and who isn't.

Helping hands: How you can help end senior hunger in America

For years I've been doing the ranch and rodeo ministry — I go to rodeos and preach a chapel service. I've seen myself as a servant for much of my life — a servant to God, to the community — but much of my work came after I turned 50, too. When I was 58, I was fortunate enough to receive a Jefferson Award for Public Service in Washington, D.C.

I try to always keep in mind a scene from my favorite movie, Saving Private Ryan. Captain John Miller, played by Tom Hanks, has been severely wounded and is dying. He tells Matt Damon, who plays Private Ryan, to do something good with his life. "Earn this," he says.

Men who've been in combat and lived — they've been given a second chance. Me, I've been given more than a dozen chances. Getting older is learning not to waste what you've been given. You do something. You always do something.

Next page: A successful reinventor. »

"What a person needs becomes so much clearer a little later in life," says Linda Wilson.

Ari Michelson

70+ Winner

LINDA WILSON, 72

Home: Wilmington, N.C.

Lifeline: My yellow Lab. She's a rescue, and she rescued me, basically.

Words to Live by: Never, ever stop learning.

I lived a cosseted life, really, until I got divorced in my mid-40s. And then, here are the things that happened to me after 50.

I got downsized at work, because my skill — teaching people how to operate a particular phone system — was no longer necessary. I had serious back problems. I had a heart attack, which necessitated a stent. Then I needed another stent. Then I needed two new knees.

Life Reimagined will help you see your goals from a new perspective

These were times of great stress. I decided that it's never too late for a new start — and I also wanted to prove to my family that I was far more capable than they thought. I grew up in the kind of family that thought a college degree denoted intelligence. But I knew what I was capable of.

I moved to a beach community in North Carolina, where I knew no one. I started a business providing caregivers to people after serious surgery — I knew from personal experience how comforting it could be to stay in your home rather than go to a rehab center — and the business was very successful. It was a stressful business, though, so I sold it five years later, at a profit, and started a pet-sitting service, which allows me to make good use of my love for animals.

I feel in many ways that I'm really, really living for the first time. I've got family nearby and I love to dance and kayak. I'm constantly looking to learn new things. And now I do want someone in my life.

What a person needs becomes so much clearer a little later in life. I want to find someone who loves nature, who has a good heart. I don't want to date just to be dating. If I don't find anyone, that's perfectly OK. If I do, I want it to be my last love.

Next page: An actor and artist. »

"I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up," says Alfredo Martinez.

Ari Michelson

70+ Winner

Alfredo Martinez, 72

Home: Los Angeles

Lifeline: Painting

Words to Live by: It doesn't get any better than this.

When I was young, everything was about getting and maintaining a family. I grew up in South Central L.A., was drafted out of high school. Then I came back, became a hairdresser—in the days of Shampoo that was cool — got married to a wonderful woman, had two daughters.

While growing up, I did not have the chance to go to college, so I made sure my daughters did. I needed a foundation, so I worked for a corporation for years.

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Then came 9/11, which changed my life. It gave me a sense that life was short. I decided to get in shape, lifting weights, swimming, biking. I began studying at the Palos Verdes Art Center, painting and drawing. At first the kids were like, "What's this old man doing here?" And then they saw my work.

I'd always had a talent but hadn't taken that talent seriously. I decided I wanted to be an actor, so I took acting classes — which resulted in an agent. Now I do large multimedia paintings, and I have gotten several roles in commercials aimed at seniors. My wife is beautiful, my daughters are beautiful — and graduates of the University of Notre Dame — and I'm an artist.

In a way, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. But that's the beauty of this time. When I was young, I wanted to be old. Now I'm old, and I feel so young.

Next page: Nifty at 90+. »

"I give thanks to God every morning for waking me up in my right mind, and for the new day," says Marguerite LaMarque.

Ari Michelson

Reader's Choice Winner

Marguerite LaMarque, 91

Home: Framingham, Mass.

Lifeline: My faith

Words to Live by: Give thanks to God every day, and listen to others — even the dull and ignorant. They, too, have their story.

I can't speak for all others about how to live a long and fruitful life. Genetics is crucial, of course — my father lived until he was 90, and that was in the 1940s.

Have faith: The key to spiritual growth

I do not damage my body with alcohol, nicotine or drugs. My religion — I am Catholic — has always been of utmost importance to me: When I was 15 or 16, I thought I might become a nun but finally decided I wanted children, and I wanted a public life. But still I give thanks to God every morning for waking me up in my right mind, and for the new day.

I try to live by simple truths.

• Listen carefully to others, because listening is a kind of solace.
  
  
• Take pleasure in little things — I don't gamble, oh no, but I do love to play whist. Keep busy — though when you have five children, you have no choice! Honesty really is the best policy.
  
  
• Do your best: For example, when you have a problem, don't ignore it or cast it aside. Quietly decide to solve it.
  
  
• And most of all, set high standards for yourself, and always strive to live up to them. Your children, your family, your community … they will notice.

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