FULLERTON, Calif. — Some things never change around the holidays for Jeanette Reese. 

“This Christmas, I’ll have apple pie in case some people don’t like pumpkin, but I’m going to have my pumpkin,” Reese said. 

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Reese uses her mom’s baking tools and the same pumpkin pie recipe every year, but not everything has stayed the same for her.

“When we’re seniors, we lose people in our lives. We lose spouses and sometimes family members move away. Sometimes we don’t have children. That is really difficult because I grew up with Christmas being such a family event,” said Reese, 68.

Reese is a widow and used to take care of her ailing mom in her home before she passed away. 

The holidays became something Reese didn’t want to face alone so last year she asked members of an organization she’s part of called the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Cal State Fullerton to join her for Christmas dinner.

The people she approached also didn’t have plans for Christmas because they’re either single, widowed or are going through some health conditions without family support. OLLI’s members are retired or semi-retired folks who enroll themselves into programs to keep their minds and bodies healthy. 

“The sadness that I felt for the month of December last year evaporated when all these people walked into the door and it was such a relief to be with people,” said Reese. 

There will be four other seniors joining Reese this year.

According to the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), 20 percent of seniors are or are at risk of becoming an elder orphan, which is a senior who doesn’t have a support system. That percentage doesn’t include the seniors who do have children who can’t be there for their parents for one reason or another.

Reese says being lonely isn’t something you can avoid when you’re an aging senior, but she believes you can find a way to make the holidays a little warmer by giving back and forming new traditions.