A 99-year-old Greeter May Be Nordstrom's Best Asset

"The simplest thing you can ever do is be nice to people. Always be nice to people and smile. And they'll come back."
— Ted DiNunzi

A dapper elderly man stands at Nordstrom's front entrance, humming an Italian tune and smiling at customers as they enter the store's double doors. One woman stops for conversation. A pair of young girls wave to him as they exit the department store, bags in hand.
A customer stopped by a few days ago to give him a gift card, just because. Shoppers often pause to take his picture, or even ask him for a hug.


Meet Ted DiNunzio, the 99-year-old greeter for the Nordstrom store at Westfield Santa Anita mall who has developed an almost fan-like following from customers in the community during his 13 years on the job.

Shoppers often stop by the store to see him, and DiNunzio says he has watched many visitors grow up over the years.

"A lot of them say, 'We come here because of you, you're an inspiration,'" DiNunzio said. "The simplest thing you can ever do is be nice to people. Always be nice to people and smile. And they'll come back."

DiNunzio works for Nordstrom every Friday and Saturday, and remains in good health; he cooks all his own meals and drives himself to work. Even if he's not at work he wears a suit -- he doesn't have a pair of jeans in his wardrobe. He says his good health comes from a positive attitude. He never has to pretend to be glad to see people and, for him, "there's no bad mood." That could be why he has twice received Nordstrom's Customer Service All Star award.


The Pasadena resident landed his position at Nordstrom after retirement, when the company hired him to welcome customers as they came to the store. He's been the official Nordstrom greeter ever since -- the only hired greeter in any of Nordstrom's roughly 240 stores in the country.

"His job is irreplaceable," said Marcille Hughes, the store manager. "It's always fun to have new employees in the store meet Ted. It teaches employees the importance of kindness."

A Rhode Island native, DiNunzio worked at a cigar shop, grocery store, and hotel before moving to Burbank with his wife, Ella, in the 1950s and reinventing himself as a meat-cutter. 
Years after his wife's death in the 1980s, DiNunzio started coming to Nordstrom to chat with customers and employees alike, a hobby that soon turned to a job.

Jacqueline Trujillo, the store's customer relations manager, said more than half of the emails she receives are about Ted's presence in the store.


"In the feedback I get, no matter what, I always get a comment about Ted. Customers always associate this store with him," Trujillo said. "If they don't see him, it's an automatic email to me. 
He's part of their store experience."

He's also popular within the company.

Last year, Nordstrom flew DiNunzio to their headquarters in Seattle for the annual shareholder's meeting. He's also been hired to greet customers for the openings at Nordstrom Rack in Pasadena and the Nordstrom on Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

"They all wanted me to be their greeter, but I said no." DiNunzio said. "This is my home."
DiNunzio will turn 100 this December, an event his co-workers have been preparing for since his last birthday, according to Hughes.

"When he had his birthday last year, we made him 100 cupcakes, for 99 years and then one for luck. The entire store stopped, singing 'Happy Birthday' to him," Hughes said. "He's an inspiration to people. He contributes so much and inspires people to do the same."


Read more: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/

Aging Creatively

Tobes Reisel, 87, of Sherman Oaks is an artist and art therapist who often finds herself helping seniors discover a creative part of themselves. Photo by Ellie Kahn

As my friends and I navigate our 60s and 70s, we notice — with amusement and consternation — how our conversations have changed. Instead of talking about our kids’ college applications and the best camping sites, we find ourselves discussing back pain and long-term care insurance. The bottom-line concern, of course, is how to create the best quality of life as we age. 

My father, who died a few months ago at 94, is one of my best models for aging well. Although Dad could hardly move his body in the past year, he still made people laugh with his quirky sense of humor. He continued to use his imagination and kept sharing his philosophies about life with anyone who would listen. (Sometimes even with those who wouldn't.)

In many ways, my father never grew up. He viewed the world with curiosity, he sought new experiences and he saw endless possibilities — as children do. I think this is the secret to aging creatively. 

Keeping that inner child alive is not always easy, says Stephen Cohn, a Burbank composer who has taught classes on creativity.

“From the time we’re children, we’re told not to daydream,” Cohn said. “We’re expected to focus on the external necessities of survival and practicality. We’re not trained to take our dreaming and our imagination seriously. And yet that is the source of all great ideas. Great art, great physics, great medicine … it all came from somebody’s imagination.”

Of course, focusing on what’s practical allows us to make decisions, raise families, manage our finances and handle day-to-day responsibilities. That’s what adults do. 

But along with the grief, a vitally important question might then be asked: “Now what?” The problem is we become identified with a role, a job or certain physical abilities. Then, as we grow old, our lives change. A role or job ends. The activities we enjoyed — whether skiing, driving, traveling or cleaning house — aren’t as easy or aren’t possible at all. This transition can be frustrating and painful.

“I think too many people buy into the societal myth that when you reach a certain age, you’ve outlived your usefulness to yourself and society,” said Ronnie Kaye, a psychotherapist and author from Marina del Rey. “Accepting that belief is guaranteed to diminish your quality of life. Why settle for that when there is a world of possibilities out there?” 

The problem is we become identified with a role, a job or certain physical abilities. Then, as we grow old, our lives change. A role or job ends. The activities we enjoyed — whether skiing, driving, traveling or cleaning house — aren’t as easy or aren’t possible at all. This transition can be frustrating and painful.

But along with the grief, a vitally important question might then be asked: “Now what?”

“I think too many people buy into the societal myth that when you reach a certain age, you’ve outlived your usefulness to yourself and society,” said Ronnie Kaye, a psychotherapist and author from Marina del Rey. “Accepting that belief is guaranteed to diminish your quality of life. Why settle for that when there is a world of possibilities out there?” 

How does one discover new possibilities? How do we tap our imagination as we grow older?

Kaye suggests starting with brainstorming exercises. The purpose is to allow ideas to emerge, to bypass the practical, critical voice that often stops us from seeing outside of the box. 

Here’s an example: Ask yourself, “What do I like to do?” Write down everything that comes to mind.

Gardening! Traveling! Hugging babies! Cleaning! Hugging dogs! Skydiving! 

Don’t stop to assess whether you can still do it or whether it’s practical. Keep asking, “What have I enjoyed?” Then ask yourself, “What are my skills?” They might include balancing the checkbook, fixing things, organizing, reading, cooking or listening to other people. Write every word that randomly comes to mind — again, without judging.

OK, now use your rational mind — maybe skydiving isn’t such a good idea. Look around your home or community for opportunities to express pleasures or talents. It could be organizing the garage, coaching new entrepreneurs, taking a writing class or reading to children. The options are infinite. Consider brainstorming with others to enhance the process. 

Aging creatively doesn’t have to mean that every senior citizen takes up watercolor painting or yoga; it’s about learning to think about your place in the world differently.

When Kaye turned 65 four years ago, for example, she started to rethink her career plans.

“After having been a therapist for 20 years, I wanted to know more, reach people in a different manner and use myself, my skills and my profession in new ways,” she said.

Her answer was to enter a doctoral program in psychoanalysis. Now, at 69, she is in the final phase of completing her doctorate at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles.

Kaye also described an 80-year-old friend who led a very productive life, but is now barely able to walk. Many things she used to do are impossible. After thinking about what she still has to offer, however, the woman started reading to blind people several times a week. 

“Finding a solution that would allow her to be useful and engaged, despite her limitations, was a genuinely creative act,” Kaye said.

Richard Braun, 82, is a retired thoracic surgeon from Encino. Since he stopped working, Braun, a violist, joined the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony and plays in a weekly chamber group. He also teaches anatomy on a volunteer basis at UCLA. 

“I wanted to use my medical knowledge in some way,” Braun said. “This requires me to invent stimulating ways to convey ideas. I’m so busy since retiring that my wife says I’ll have to go back to work to find more free time!” 

As an artist and art therapist, Tobes Reisel often finds herself helping seniors discover a creative part of themselves. 

“I work with many people who are not artists. I ask them to scribble with me,” said Reisel, 87, of Sherman Oaks. “They get into their childishness, and many say, ‘You know what? There’s a kid in me that isn’t having any fun!’ So we talk about how they can add that to their life.”

Creativity often evolves from one’s passions. This is definitely the case for artist Peachy Levy. At 82, the Santa Monica resident still gets commissions for creating her unique Judaic textile art. 

“I am a passionate person,” she said. “I think a lot of people don’t make time or space for their passions; their life is too frenetic. It might help to look back to your youth, to what you were passionate about. Perhaps those feelings are still there for you!”

Passion is what led Carey Okrand to want to become an entrepreneur at 60. Realizing she could go from preaching about the environment to doing something active and positive, she’s decided to start a business in Los Feliz that will be called The Refill Place. Based on an old concept of reusing containers instead of filling the earth with plastic, the idea will be for people to bring their empty containers to her store and refill them with environmentally friendly cleaning and personal care products.

“The everyday decisions and choices I have to make let me be creative,” said Okrand of Van Nuys. “Growing a business feels like working on a piece of art.” 

Discovering or inventing new possibilities at  60 or 80 isn't the same as it was at 20 or 30. 

“To be creative at an older age,” Reisel said, “involves reviewing how you've lived your life and then using that in the way that is most honest and fulfilling and enjoyable for where you are now and what you can do now.” 

Aging creatively, then, involves rediscovering passions, taking an inventory of current skills and keeping in check any tendency to tell yourself that you are too old to be useful or to have fun. It means reawakening the child inside that can laugh and imagine and create something new, in spite of — or sometimes because of — limitations. 

Every day that my father woke up and remembered he could no longer drive or work or get from his bed to the bathroom by himself, I believe he asked himself, “Now what?” Then he made a choice to see possibilities. I hope I can follow his lead. 

Ellie Kahn is a licensed psychotherapist, oral historian and documentary filmmaker. She can be contacted through her Web site, livinglegaciesfamilyhistories.com.

This article is c/o:  http://www.jewishjournal.com

Remember Seniors On 4th of July

Everyone has experienced loneliness at some point in their life, but seniors often have to deal with it more often.  Holidays can be especially lonely, and the 4th of July is definitely one of the biggest holidays of the year.   Many seniors may be alone for the holiday.  They may have families that live far away, many of their friends might have passed away, and their ability to get around might interfere with having a healthy social life.

As you’re planning your 4th of July celebrations, please remember the older adult in your life whether it be a relative, friend or neighbor.  Drop by for a quick visit and bring a desert.  If you can’t be with them,  a simple phone call can make a world of a difference for a senior’s overall health and well being!