Health columnist dove into swim instruction at 60

"No matter how well we have cared for ourselves, chances are that sooner or later, many of us will be faced with a serious injury, surgery or illness," Prime View Health columnist Marie McDonald wrote in her March 1 column. At the time, she was in recovery from treatment for a brain aneurysm. McDonald died June 27.

According to an Aug. 1, 2007, Prime View story, it wasn't until McDonald turned 60 that she really got into the swim of things.

"I was a synchronized swimmer when I was going on 19 or 20," she said. "I was in Elliott Murphy's Aquashow on Long Island, (N.Y.), the site of the 1939 World's Fair, but then I got married and that was the end of that."

In 1987, McDonald became aquatics program director at the Red Bank (N.J.) YMCA. She entered the competitive swim scene at 62 and by 65 qualified for three national competitions. She also taught in Fort Monmouth, N.J.

"I retired when I was 75," she said, "but after that I took on the state of Nevada and won three gold medals in the Senior Olympics."

McDonald didn't want to sit at home, so she applied for a job with the Las Vegas Athletic Club.

"They called me on my 78th birthday and said I could start teaching," she said. "A lot of women would be scared to jump at something like that after getting to be 50, 60 or 70. But it's something I wanted to do."

She shared her health tips in her book, "Your Personal Best, a Common Sense Guide to Fitness at All Ages."