Thirty seven men and women will be recognized for their approach to aging on Sept. 22 by the University of Louisville’s Trager Institute.
“The Gold Standard of Optimal Aging Award Ceremony celebrates older adults, aged 85 years and over, who lead engaged and flourishing lives and inspire those around them with their zest for life,” according to the institute.
Among this year’s honorees, who were nominated by family, friends, colleagues and businesses, are an Ursuline Sister of Louisville and a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville.
Ursuline Sister Janet M. Peterworth, who is retired, has ministered as a teacher, principal, parish administrator, non-profit executive and as president of the Ursuline Sisters.
She currently serves on several non-profit boards and volunteers with service groups in the Louisville area. She is chair of the Ursuline Sisters Charitable Trust and serves on the boards of Interfaith Paths to Peace, St. William Church and Friends of Escuipulas.
She served for two years in Leadership Louisville’s Encore program and recently finished a terms on Bellarmine University’s Board of Trustees, the Board of Directors of Sacred Heart Schools and the board of Hildegard House. She recently returned from El Paso, where she worked on immigration.
Prompted by the awards program to finish the sentence, “As I age, I dare to …,” she said, “As I age, I dare to stay involved in the community wherever I can as often as I can. I dare to see age as only a number and not as a limitation. I dare to walk through new doors as they open to me. I dare to live as fully as possible until the end of my days.”
Father John Deatrick, who has served as a priest for 57 years, remains active at age 90 celebrating funeral liturgies.
He was ordained on May 14, 1966, and served as an assistant and associate pastor, chaplain and pastor. He was pastor of Holy Family and St. Martha churches. He served as assistant pastor of St. Augustine and St. Edward churches. And he served as associate pastor of Our Mother of Sorrows, St. Leonard and St. Martha churches.
He also served as the associate director of the Vocation Office and was the chaplain at then-Bellarmine College, St. Xavier High School and for the Knights of Columbus of Kentucky. He coached baseball at Bellarmine and, in 1977, he received the Bellarmine Athletic Award and was installed into Bellarmine’s Athletic Hall of Fame, his nomination said.
He retired in 2004. In his retirement, he has served as a senior associate at St. Martha.“Father Deatrick also stays connected with others through technology, living in his own condominium and engaging in the ministry of prayer for all God’s people.
In response to the prompt, Father Deatrick said, “As I age, I dare to continue being of service as I am able to in whatever way is possible.”
