Amazing Senior: Avid golfer Dola Davis

Dola Davis always thought of herself as a city girl— Winnipeg, Toronto and then, for 35 years, Hamilton. So she had a moment of pause at the prospect of moving to Collingwood, Ontario, a small town on the shores of Georgian Bay, near where her son lives. “But I was fine from day one,” says the 86-year-old, who moved to Chartwell Select Georgian Traditions a year and a half ago. “There’s lots of blue sky, which I love.” And since she now lives right by the water, she often takes the walking paths down to the marina to watch the boats sparkle in the sun.

Dola didn’t have to move out of her house. “I was fine and dandy on my own,” says the retired registered nurse, a widow for 15 years. “But I was on a corner lot and I had to hire snow removal and window cleaning and house cleaning, and I knew I couldn’t stay there forever. I thought, ‘The time to move is when you’re still physically and mentally competent enough to enjoy your new home.’” Not only was she ready to give up control of house maintenance, but she says, “I feel secure and safe here.”

Active and athletic her whole life, Dola is still an avid golfer, playing regularly at a nearby course. At Georgian Traditions, she’s a keen bridge player, enjoys the monthly travelogues and often goes on the organized trips to see live theatre, to visit the historic centres of nearby towns or just to enjoy spectacular country drives through what has become one of Ontario’s premier tourist regions. “The drives are lovely, just beautiful,” she says enthusiastically.

Dola’s one-bedroom suite is on the ground floor, which she says is “just like living in your own house.” She can open the French doors off her bedroom to let in some cool maritime breezes. Most mornings she’ll go into her kitchenette and prepare a simple breakfast at her leisure. But she says, “Sometimes I can smell the bacon when I open my door to get my morning paper from the hallway. And then I’ll just have to go down to the dining room to have a full breakfast!”