Laugh
That’s Charlie Sellers’ key to longevity. At 95, he inspires seniors around Jacksonville Beach and beyond. “I love people. No matter where we go, if we don’t know anybody, by the time we leave we know everybody. We like to meet people who can laugh,” he chuckled.
Charlie and his wife Colette, 84, joke that they always seem to be going out when their neighbors in their senior independent living high rise are coming home. After living in beachside condominiums, in 2017 they moved into Pablo Towers Apartments where Charlie’s mother lived for 18 years before her death at 101. “We go out every night. We start by eating,” he said. “Then we’ll come home or go someplace else, like Monkey’s Uncle to play trivia,” she added.
Charlie is a regular at the Beaches’ karaoke spots, where he belts out Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life” and other standards. “I’m 95 years old and I get up there and sing and people applaud me,” he said, pulling out his scribbled song list of favorites like “Sweet Caroline” and “Pretty Woman.” His wife quipped that Charlie is more of an entertainer than singer, though he’s mostly on key. He often sings at the VFW, Moose Lodge and Monkey’s Uncle Tavern. “Wherever they give me a microphone,” said Charlie.
The Sellers also are savvy about places that have happy hour prices and senior and military discounts. They enjoy the camaraderie of the Happy Hour Club and feel a void any week there’s no gathering. As the U.S. observes Older Americans Month in May, Charlie is a testament to a social lifestyle. A recent Wall Street Journal story reports that nearly 15 million Americans are turning 80, a number expected to double within 20 years, and those folks are deliberate about how they spend time and money. Most aspire to be 93. And Mayo Clinic agrees with Charlie about laughter, publishing that scientific evidence shows that laughing decreases stress hormones and that humor and human connections are important to staying healthy.
“Always have loose ends,” Colette said. “Life is full of loose ends. You have to have an idea of what you want to do with your life.”
Both exceptionally sharp, funny, engaging and accomplished, they acknowledge how fortunate they are to have each other.
“I’m lucky to have her. She’s a pretty lady and I enjoy taking her out. When we go out, we have fun,” said Charlie.
“We hold hands a lot,” said Colette, conceding that these days it’s also to keep from falling. A devoted wife, she said she wants to help Charlie with whatever he needs and that she realized more than ever how precious he is to her when he was sick last year.
Both native New Yorkers, the couple will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this summer. They met in 1994 at a meeting of the Beaches Business Association. “I thought he was hysterical,” said Colette, recalling telling friends, “I met this character from Long Island today.”
By 17, Charlie was living his childhood dream of going to sea on ships. An officer on the USS Wasp and later serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve for 35 years, he also was an engineer on commercial ships as a U.S. Merchant Marine officer. Before retiring in 1991 after assisting the Navy during Desert Storm, he often sailed on ships that docked in Jacksonville’s shipyards. “I loved Jacksonville so much that I would go out and look around at the homes,” said Charlie, who once owned as many as 26 local rentals. A daredevil who enjoyed skydiving and racing cars and go karts, he last worked in and won awards for geothermal energy sources for homes.
Colette, her late husband and three sons followed her parents to Florida in 1969. As a single mother, she taught kindergarten and earned an accounting degree and MBA from the University of North Florida. She worked in Corporate America and as budget director for JEA during the recession before starting her own CPA practice in 1992.
Charlie was a new widower with a son when Colette invited him and other business colleagues to a New Year’s Eve Party at the beginning of 1996, the year they started dating. After three years, their sons kept asking when they were getting married.
“Charlie is the love of my life,” Colette said. “After being together for 30 years, I’m still hoping for another 5.”
