Going Strong at 90 and Beyond: Three Marin Elders Share Tips for Aging at Home

As Americans live longer and families navigate rising healthcare and housing costs, the question of where to grow old has become not just a personal choice, but a defining issue for an aging society. Marin County, where more than 22% of the population is over 65, is one of the oldest suburban areas in the state (11th out of 58 counties). This means many Marin citizens are now facing a decision: Will they stay in their homes — often homes they bought decades ago, as Marin has an especially high rate of ownership — or move into a retirement community?

The decision about whether or not to “age at home” depends on financial and health circumstances, as well as family (or other support) proximity and availability. There is no rule book or template for elderly people and their families as they face this decision. It’s deeply personal; there are positives to staying at home and positives to entering senior living.

Below we profile three Marinites, ages 93, 98 and 100, who have decided to age in their homes. They are each in exceptionally good health for their age, and each owns the home that they currently live in. They share their history and the details of how they make living at home work, as well as some insider’s advice about longevity.

Erika Zettl — Rooted in Nature 

Erika Zettl is 100 years old, enjoying her life in the home on five acres of property in Lagunitas that she and her late husband Herb bought in 1955 as they started a family. This is the home where for 70 years they raised their two children, pursued careers, planted gardens, swam in the pool, painted, wrote poetry and hosted their family, which today has grown to include 11 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

When Herb Zettl passed away in 2023 at the age of 94, Erika, who remains physically strong and remarkably mobile as a centenarian, wanted to stay in their home. “I feel fine and have no physical problems,” says Zettl. “And I feel at home here.” It is her books, her husband’s art which hangs on the walls throughout the house and her garden that make her feel grounded as she copes with early stages of dementia. According to Zettl’s daughter Renee Child, who bought a second home in Marin in order to be close to her aging parents, Zettl gardens most days. “If it’s not raining, she is out there,” says Child.

“I am rooted in this place,” says Zettl, who earned a MA and PhD in English Literature from UC Berkeley, before she moved to Marin where she taught school in the Bolinas Unified School District, as well as becoming an education instructor in Marin County. She also wrote poetry and published a book of poems illustrated by her late husband.  

Zettl attributes her longevity to her “very healthy lifestyle” with no junk food and movement every day. She and her family have been able to afford a full-time live-in home helper to assist with shopping, driving, household upkeep and cooking, which, according to Child, is the only way her mother has been able to stay at home. “We have three caretakers who alternate, working together on a schedule so my mother always has someone here to care for her,” says Child.

Today, Zettl still writes poetry and says she feels most creative in her garden.  “When you have nature around you, you feel inspired,” she says. “My poems have become deeper. I am writing about how nature affects me, the impact of nature.”

Patricia Wood — A Sense of Humor and a Little Jack Daniel’s

Patricia Claire Wood is a 93-year-old native Californian who lives with her niece, Cheryl Popp, in Sausalito. A retired financial adviser, Wood successfully broke through the glass ceiling of her time by establishing her own investment management firm specializing in socially responsible investing.  

Wood never had children, has always lived alone and has always been “very independent.” As she aged, she realized she would like to be closer to family. A decade ago, she and her niece bought a three-story home together in Sausalito. They worked out a unique arrangement: Wood has one floor, Popp has another and together they share a common floor. Aunt and niece have separate living quarters, but dwell under the same roof and share expenses. While Wood no longer drives and is not as mobile as she once was, she remains quite self-sufficient. She has the comfort of knowing family and help, if needed, are nearby. Popp, who is also single and owns and operates Sausalito Books by the Bay, appreciates sharing living expenses with her aunt. 

As far as her longevity, Wood believes her environment and surrounding herself with things she loves is critical to her well-being, so being at home is important to her. The biggest challenge is accepting she can’t do everything she once did, and being patient with those inabilities. A fierce champion of women’s rights and social justice, Wood continues to keep her mind active and engaged. She also consistently cares for others, which she believes improves her well-being. Her niece, Popp, adds that “a feisty sense of humor and taste for Jack Daniel’s” has a lot to do with her aunt’s longevity.  “When my aunt passes I will inherit her half of the property,” says Popp. “Of course, at this rate, I may go before she does! She’s both feisty and resilient.” 

Wood and Popp say they are both advocates for Sausalito Village, a Sausalito based non-profit organization that provides resources to support elders remaining at home, keeping them physically active and connected to their community.

Bill Jones — People, Playfulness and Coffee 

At 98, Bill Jones remains the consummate host. Under the shade cover on the deck of his home along the canal in San Rafael, where he has lived for the past 27 years, he sets out matching plates and napkins for lunch and tells tales of dinner parties he’s hosted over the years.  “At a recent dinner, I had everyone write their own obituary. They could be humorous, serious, whatever they wanted. And we made copies and shared them,” he says. “My advice is to do this. It is a wonderful way to get to know your friends better.”

Jones lives alone in his home filled with so many of his favorite things: books, model cars and scrap books documenting his time as owner of the famous Sutro Bath House in San Francisco. Most notably, Jones’ home is adorned with photos of him with his son Aaron, who passed away in 1996 at the age of 30. When Jones adopted Aaron in 1969, he made history by becoming the first single man in America to adopt a child, an experience he documents in his memoir Bachelor Father. 

As an elementary school teacher and a father, Jones remained closeted, as coming out in the 1950s and ’60s would prevent him from both teaching and parenting. “I taught fourth grade in Novato,” says Jones. “I loved teaching. I loved kids. I loved reading. We read The Yearling and I told the kids I would cry. And we all cried and talked about our pets.” Although he remained closeted, rumors about his homosexuality meant that Jones was denied tenure, and he eventually moved on to his second career as a business owner in San Francisco.

Jones lives alone, but has help from a housecleaner and gardener.  He has been on a fixed income since 2000, and he says that his less ambitious lifestyle matches his lower energy levels as he ages. But “low energy” may be a relative term as Jones, always politically active, attended eight Saturday rallies in a row at the Tesla dealership in Marin last year to protest Elon Musk and his government budget slashing. “I brought my walker with a seat, plus my friend and dog,” he says. 

When asked about the secrets to his longevity, Jones attributes his lifespan to his love of people and his playfulness — and a lot of coffee. “I love living,” Jones says. “I have always surrounded  myself with creative people, and I have always created a family.”