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# The golden years: Retiree pieces together her life’s events
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/the-golden-years-retiree-pieces-together-her-lifes-events/
- Published: 2004-10-25T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:20:07.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Events, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By PAM WIGHT Special to the Daily Press*

FIFTH STREET — For most 74-year-old retirees, joining the Peace Corps is not on their list of plans. But Trudi Wyner wanted to help people. So rather than volunteering at the local hospital or charity with her peers, she signed up for a two-year adventure in Jamaica.

That was in 1990\. And Wyner’s choice to help people in a tiny, developing island country was not the first courageous move the Santa Monica resident had made. But she was not always so bold.

“People don’t believe me, but I used to be so mousy,” said the petite 87-year-old. “I didn’t stand up for myself at all, and I was very quiet.”

Having lived most of her life in Cleveland, Wyner set off for California by herself when she was 61 years old. She sought a fresh start and an escape from what she called “overbearing siblings.” Her husband had divorced her 20 years earlier, leaving her to raise four children alone.

A self-described lifelong learner, Wyner attended night school since she was a teenager as a hobby, dabbling in a variety of subjects. But her dream

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 25, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102504.pdf?ref=smdp.com)