Senior Spotlight: Pearl Ann Rutherford

The City of Milton and Guy Thompson Community Center honor local senior citizens with the Senior Spotlight initiative.

MILTON — An early retirement is what brought Pearl Ann Rutherford and her husband Robert to Milton 25 years ago. Relocating from Kentucky where she worked as a hospital supervisor, she said she and Robert set out to find a new place to live by heading to Phoenix, Arizona and traveled eastward until they landed in Milton. 

"We found a house where Robert could drive his golf cart to play golf. We liked the area and the small town. I found a job," she said.

Pearl Ann said after her husband died in 2009, she spent a period of time adjusting and decided to become more social. She joined a knitting group, bowling league, a fitness and dancing club and someone told her about Sassy Senior Singles. She made friends and visited the Guy Thompson Community Center’s senior program to play cards in 2011. 

She has since began volunteering on the activities committee and enjoys playing Bingo. Her favorite program is the lunch and learn. "I enjoy learning about senior subjects," she said. 

Pearl Ann said she has to keep herself busy since being retired is a big change for her. She said she’s been in accounting her whole life. "I began in a bank in Buffalo, New York; a Kentucky hospital business manager. I learned most of my accounting skills under Danny Walters. I appreciate him for teaching me as it’s opened a lot of doors and challenged me. I’ve lived in a lot of places and had many adventures. Coming to the senior center has helped a lot." 

There’s so much to do in Milton. There’s more to do here than any place else I know of so I decided to stay. I enjoy being around people. I try to help out whenever I can. 

One adventure Pearl Ann remembers most is when she and her family left Buffalo, New York in a 35′ house boat to move to Florida."We put the boat in at the Erie Canal and traveled through the locks to the Hudson River, out through the Inter-coastal Waterways, through Chesapeake Bay and back out to the Inter-Coastal. We lived in Fort Myers for a year and a half. It was a good time in our lives. We would stop in at places to gas up and buy food. It was an adventure I’ll never forget." 

Married to Robert, her best friend for 48 years, she has one daughter and two grandchildren. 

Her motto is "Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is unknown. Live in the present."

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Senior Spotlight: Pearl Ann Rutherford