Peggy Gaines Named August 2026 Aging Well Award Winner

For some people, retirement means slowing down. For Peggy Gaines, it meant finding a new way to serve.

After spending 31 years as an educator in the St. Joseph School District, Peggy could have easily settled into a quieter life. Instead, she became a volunteer with the American Red Cross and began a second chapter that would take her from house fires in Northwest Missouri to some of the largest disasters in the country and beyond.

Today, Peggy Gaines is the August 2026 recipient of the Freudenthal Aging Well Award, recognizing her extraordinary commitment to helping others.

From the Classroom to Disaster Relief

Peggy spent most of her teaching career in physical education and health, along with several years teaching science and coaching. She describes those 31 years simply as a great career filled with good friends and experiences.

Her journey with the American Red Cross began in 2008, partly because of her father.

Peggy's father had served as an Army medic and often spoke about the Red Cross. Curious, Peggy decided to find out what the organization was all about.

She went in on a Friday afternoon, watched a short training video and, just a few days later, was asked if she wanted to deploy to Hurricane Ike. Peggy's response was understandable: she didn't know anything yet. The answer she received was simple: "But you were a teacher."

And with that, Peggy's next chapter began.

Showing Up When People Need Her Most

Since 2008, Peggy has responded to hundreds of house fires throughout Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas, often answering calls in the middle of the night when families have suddenly lost their homes and possessions.

She has also deployed more than 50 times to major disasters and emergencies, including the Joplin tornado, Maui wildfires, flooding in Texas and typhoons affecting the Northern Mariana Islands.

Those deployments can last weeks at a time, yet Peggy continues to go wherever she is needed.

For Peggy, disaster response isn't simply about meeting someone's immediate needs. It's about helping people see that there can still be a future on the other side of tragedy.

"I just see it as a way of trying to help somebody see forward that they can recover," Peggy said.

That perspective has kept her serving for nearly two decades. Every time she responds, Peggy hopes she can help someone look beyond what has just happened and begin imagining what life can become again. As she puts it, that can be difficult when "your house is laying flat."

A Teacher Never Stops Teaching

Peggy may have retired from the classroom, but she never stopped being an educator. Through the Red Cross, she has helped teach thousands of children about fire safety and disaster preparedness. For Peggy, the importance of that education becomes clear whenever she hears about a child who knew what to do during a house fire and helped their family escape safely. Her work has allowed the lessons she spent a career teaching — preparation, responsibility, health and safety — to continue making a difference long after retirement.

Service Changes the Person Serving, Too

After witnessing so many people experience sudden and devastating loss, Peggy says volunteering has given her a greater appreciation for her own life. "You never come home from a disaster that you don't feel very appreciative of everything that you have," she said.

And then she puts it even more simply:

"Your stuff is just stuff."

The things that matter most become much clearer when you're standing beside someone during one of the worst days of their life. For Peggy, helping that person take the first step forward is what matters.

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Aging Well and Finding Purpose After Retirement

Peggy encourages other older adults to find their own opportunities to become involved.

It doesn't have to mean traveling across the country or responding to a disaster. Churches, nonprofits and community organizations need people with different talents, experiences and abilities. Many organizations will even provide the training needed to get started.

For someone entering retirement and wondering what comes next, Peggy's advice is simple: find somewhere to get involved. There are still people who need what you have to offer. That philosophy also shapes Peggy's definition of aging well.

"I'm still capable to do something for somebody else."

Perhaps there isn't a better definition. After a lifetime of teaching, serving and answering the call when others need help, Peggy isn't particularly interested in slowing down. Ask what motivates her to keep going, and her answer sounds exactly like someone who has spent nearly two decades responding when the phone rings: "It's the next crisis. Whatever needs to be done. It's the next crisis."

Congratulations to Peggy Gaines, the August 2026 Freudenthal Aging Well Award winner.

Her example reminds us that aging well isn't simply about the number of years we live. It's about what we continue to do with them.

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