A magazine special to the DAR: AGELESS

Area residents like Bob Stagner of Poplar Bluff, Al and Betty Banken of Dexter and Earnsteen Pigg of Doniphan are truly AGELESS.

The residents in this magazine recognize the importance of staying active, giving back to the community and holding onto the things that make you happy.

At 82, Pigg loves her job at a Doniphan company as much today as when she started in 1965.

"I love my life, and I wouldn’t change a thing," says Pigg, who has considered three generations of co-workers family. “Mom always told me, ‘Work as long as you possibly can.’ I am the oldest employee here, but I plan on doing just that.”

Stagner helps preserve history through a hobby he found in retirement, staying both mentally and physically active. He repairs the delicate inner workings of antique clocks that have been passed down for generations by some families.

“I think staying active is just critically important,” Stagner said recently from a workshop in the basement of his north Poplar Bluff home. “You can’t just survive on your work. You’ve got to have outside interests that you can carry with you into retirement.”

The Bankens, meanwhile, may say they stay busy at a slower pace now, but are still very active in their Dexter community, helping with everything from community dances to free dental clinics.

“I thank God I was brought up with hard work,” Al Banken says. “I believe in hard work and working for a living.”

Meet these residents and others in AGELESS, available online at the www.darnews.com and in the Saturday, July 27, edition of the Daily American Republic.

On the web: https://www.darnews.com/reader/ageless