Thelma Lofquist passionately advocates taking charge of our own aging; her presentations are based upon her experience of creating a healthy lifestyle. She started her college education, at the age of 37, as a single parent of six children. In graduate school her two fields of study were Environmental Psychology and Gerontology. While at the university she took dance classes and then wrote her Master’s thesis using jazz dance as therapy. Her experiences both dancing and teaching classes on physical activity and aging prompted her to explore the effects of lifestyle on the aging process. While writing her doctoral thesis she began assessing elder care facilities and made referrals to families of frail elders. She has run a placement and counseling service to families of frail elders for more than 20 years. Counseling those families led to her first book, Frail Elders and the Wounded Caregiver.

Her extensive experience working with the elderly became the impetus to use herself as a lifestyle research project – to walk her talk. The importance of a healthy lifestyle, coupled with Dr. Lofquist’s fascination with the many wonders of recent brain research, prompted her to write a new book, I Don’t Want To Be Old When I Get Old. The research shows clearly that many chronic aches and pains, and dependency of older age, can be thwarted with lifestyle changes. When we discover and apply this information we not only will reward our own later lives, we will help our children as well by extending our ability to live independently.

Thelma has written a monthly column, “Exercise Is A State Of Mind,” conducts exercise workshops, teaches jazz dance, and regularly presents talks on the topics listed above. Additionally, she has taught classes on physical activity and aging at Portland State University.

Prior speaking engagements

Exercise Workshops for OASIS; Brain lectures for OASIS; Marylhurst University; YWCA; Clark County Community College; Sherwood Senior Center; SPIN; Tyler Texas Senior Services; Vancouver, Washington Educational Project; River Valley Landing; Summerplace; St. Lukes Episcopal Church; TOPS.