This coffee klatch group of mostly-retired men meets weekly at Montano’s in Roanoke.
Written by Dan Smith / Photo Above: Members are (from left) Frank Wedemeyer, Jack Helms, Don Barnhart, H.D. Kemp, Jeff Wendell, Barry Mobley, Steve McGonigal, Bill Fleshman, Don Potter, and Bill Houck.
For some, it’s easier to go back to work than to retire.
There may not be a perfect retirement, but some retirees simply can’t stop working, no matter how hard they try. One way to keep involvement going is to hang out with people whose interests are similar to your own.
One such group—with no official title—meets weekly at a Roanoke restaurant and talks about nearly everything, save for the exclusion of politics and religion. Several of the members have retired more than once, only to return to the full-time or part-time work world.
We asked a few of these un-retired friends to explain themselves.
Bill Fleshman
Here is an extreme example of a man who simply couldn’t get away from the full-time work world. He has retired from the U.S. Army, the FBI, Capital Hill, and ITT. “I never wanted to retire,” he said. “I don’t need the money. I get four [retirement] checks a month.”
And Fleshman doesn’t just work. He plays just as hard, refereeing soccer, guiding tours, skiing, and the like. Most who go back to work, however, don’t do it as spectacularly as Fleshman does.
Here, in their own words, are some examples:
Cybele Wu
My grandparents and great-grandparents often spent a lifetime in one job, but my path has already included many roles: educator, tour guide, customer service, tech, and caregiver.
My “unretired retirement” is a purposeful next act rooted in service and human connection. I am training as a counselor specializing in aging, caregiving, and grief, weaving together my lived experience and professional background.
This work challenges my mind, keeps me engaged with others, and gives shape and meaning to later life. I also serve as a hospice volunteer and am organizing my family letters for a future memoir, tending both present-day stories and ancestral ones.
Together, these pursuits nourish my emotional resilience and invite ongoing growth in this new chapter.
Robin Barnhill
I planned for retirement prior to retiring with a 401(k) and the like. My employer laid off 41 people on a Friday night. We got a nice pay-out, so I am retired early. As a result, I went to work at the Hollins University stable for minimum wage and ended up fulling a dream of being with horses as a riding instructor.
I owned two horses and did horse shows, gave riding lessons, and was thrilled with my life. When I officially retired, I stayed busy with horses and other activities and hobbies.
I feel fortunate. Now, at 78, I have slowed down. My mare died and I re-homed the other horse, but I am still active and have friends with horses, so I have that connection. I also work the polls during elections and have a few other activities. I told my kids and other young people to start saving for retirement ASAP.
Ken Conklin
I don’t care for the word “retirement.” I prefer to continue my personal game of life by evolving instead of retiring. My wife, Barbara, supported my transition from a career with advanced technology pursuits such as the rollout of commercial GPS enablers to becoming a writer, poet, and publisher. This base gave me the confidence to write the book NORVEL: An American Hero. One of the ways my writing journey continues today is to actively participate in the Veterans Poetry Project, a healing program for veterans.
Stefanie Fowler
After 43 years in education, I retired. Besides a part-time job, my large passion has been to start PORCH Roanoke, the local chapter of a national organization designed to combat food insecurity.
PORCH was started 16 years ago. We have grown to include 75 chapters in 15 states. Now we use it to indicate that people leave food on their porch for pick-up by a volunteer and delivery to a local pantry.
In Roanoke, we create partnerships between neighborhoods and local pantries, organizing monthly food collections and donations. People have an easy way to give, and the pantries have a reliable monthly food donation.
Since August 2024, we have grown to 20 neighborhoods supporting 10 pantries, and we have donated over 33,000 pounds of non-perishable food locally. This project has given form and meaning to my retirement.
Mark Fryburg
Bucket list? My retired sister told me, “Toss it! You’ll do something totally unexpected.” I pushed back. Problem was, my retirement plans recreated my work life—six more years of long hours in high-stress assignments [in various media].
Wife Laura and I moved back to the Roanoke area in 2022. I hit pause, then reset, in Daleville. Who knows why? I suddenly played with poetry. Words blossomed. Talented mentors helped me.
I placed in poetry contests and a couple of journals accepted my poetry. I kicked the bucket list! If someone called me a “poet” four years ago, everyone I know would have laughed. My sister got the last laugh.
Bob Schmucker
One of my old songs begins with the line, “Retirement is just a dream as far as I can see,” but my retirement goals were always clear. I wanted to pay off the house and eliminate debt. I wanted to transition from full-time corporate work to the things I was passionate about—writing, getting published, songwriting, performing, and supporting the local arts community. I wanted to continue my passion project, running 3rd Street Coffeehouse, a small listening room dedicated to singer-songwriters and original music.
I began making that transition long before I retired, so there was never a “what now?” phase. I am more relaxed, productive, and fulfilled. I’m working on books and maintaining my blog. I have written a dozen songs since retirement. I’m in my ninth year of running 3rd Street Coffeehouse. I have worked on a congressional campaign staff, and my only regret is that I didn’t retire five years earlier.
Dana Ackley
I’ve opted not to retire. People need work, whether paid or unpaid, to give them meaning in their lives. My work continues to involve executive coaching on a part time basis and promoting my new book Emotional Intelligence in a Divided World: 16 Sills To Master Your Brain, Get a Promotion, Build Better Relationships, and Resist Manipulation.
(The writer of this article has been retired three times. He can’t seem to make it stick.)
