For Jerry Carlson, It's Always Been About People

When Jerry Carlson, a resident at The Levande by Vivie, learned he had been named the Isanti County Outstanding Senior Citizen of the Year, the longtime educator and coach was grateful for the recognition. But what happened afterward may have meant even more.

As news of the honor spread, hundreds of messages of congratulations began pouring in, including many from former students and athletes Jerry had taught and coached decades ago.

“The thing I’m most astounded with is how many people have reached out after this happened to congratulate me,” Jerry said. 

Always a “people person”

At 86, Jerry has accumulated plenty of accolades over a long career in education and athletics. Yet the response to this latest honor gave him a different perspective on what that career has meant.

“You don’t think about those things when you’re living your life and going through all this,” he said. “That’s just who I was. But obviously, I must have done some good things with a lot of people.”

For Jerry, who describes himself as someone who has always been a “people person,” those relationships have been at the heart of a rewarding career—and a fulfilling retirement.

More than a coach

Jerry began his teaching and coaching career in Slayton, Minnesota before moving to Cambridge in 1968. Over the decades that followed, he taught and coached young people in multiple sports, including football, baseball, and softball, and later served as athletic director. His accomplishments earned him numerous honors, including being named Athletic Director of the Year in 1997 and induction into the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013.

For Jerry, however, good coaching wasn’t just about winning. He recognized that young athletes sometimes needed encouragement just as much as instruction.

“Someone needed to, after practice, put your arm around one of the kids and kind of bring them back to finding out that they didn’t do so bad,” he said. “I think that was one of my strengths as far as coaching is concerned.”

It was an approach that helped Jerry build relationships that lasted well beyond his years as a coach.

“I think I related really well with kids,” he said. “From what I can gather after they talk to me after they’ve graduated and grown up, they felt I was as important a person in their life during that time as anyone was.”

Relationships that last

Those relationships haven’t faded with time. Since moving to The Levande, Jerry says he frequently welcomes visits from former students.

Recently, he heard from a former athlete whose father Jerry had also coached years before. He shared how Jerry had supported him throughout his life—another example of the lasting impact of Jerry’s years as a coach and mentor.

For someone whose career was devoted to helping young people, those visits and messages offer a significant measure of his life’s work.

“It makes you feel good when you know that some of the things you did in life were very valuable.” 

Knowing when the time was right

Jerry lived for decades in the same Cambridge home, remaining there for 20 years after his wife passed away. Gradually, keeping up with the house and yard became more difficult, and Jerry began to have concerns about the safety of living on his own. He decided it was time to talk with his three daughters about making a change.

The Levande was already familiar to him. Jerry had visited the community when it first opened, long before he was considering a move himself, and over the years he continued receiving invitations to events there. When he and his family began exploring senior living, it was a place he already knew.

His daughters were supportive of the idea, but Jerry was the one who decided the time had come.

“My daughters were thinking this was a good thing for me,” he said. “And I was the one who made the decision, and they were real happy about that too.”

Jerry moved to The Levande in September 2023.

“As the years go by, you just decide that there’s some things you can and can’t do,” he said. “And this was, for me, just the right thing at the right time.”

Plenty to keep him busy

Since making the move, Jerry has found plenty of ways to stay involved—something he believes is essential at any age.

“Vivie has been a wonderful thing for me, because it keeps me so busy,” he said.

His calendar includes activities ranging from Bible study and hymn sings to games and Wii Bowling.

“I love to sing, for example. So we have a hymn sing once a week. We have Bible study. We have all kinds of activities.”

His schedule can get busy enough that his visitors sometimes have to work around it. “When people come to visiting, I have to say, ‘Well, now I got to go for an hour or two. You can wait in my apartment while I’m there or else come with me,’” he said.

For someone who has spent much of his life surrounded by people, staying connected and engaged seems to come naturally.

“I stay really busy, and that’s thanks to Vivie,” Jerry said. 

Still looking forward

Jerry’s belief in staying involved didn’t begin when he moved to The Levande. After retiring, he continued his connection to the community and the activities that had been such an important part of his life.

“The biggest thing is you have to stay busy,” he said. “I did that even after I had retired. I always went to the activities. I went to school activities even up to the last few years.”

Getting around isn’t always as easy as it once was, but Jerry has no intention of letting that stop him from doing what he can.

“My legs are getting older and my balance is kind of bad, but I’m not going to let those things keep me from living a fulfilling life,” he said. “So I still get out and do things—and my kids think maybe sometimes too much, even—but as long as I can do it, well, I’m going to continue.”

Perhaps that outlook has something to do with the many years Jerry spent working with generations of young people.

“You know, dealing with young people all your life, I think that kind of keeps you a little young, too,” he said.

A fulfilling life

Looking back, Jerry has a simple way of summing it all up.

“It’s been a rewarding life. It really has.”

And it’s a life that remains full of people, activities and connections at The Levande.

Jerry admits that before making the move, he had a very different idea of what living in a senior living community might mean.

“I always thought, when you get old … if you have to stay someplace, that’s kind of the end of life,” he said. “But it hasn’t been for me. It’s been a real blessing.”

Explore senior living at The Levande

Looking for a senior living community that makes it easy to stay active and connected? Learn more about The Levande by Vivie.