Bob Broderson: Don't Retire

Everyday is like an adventure according to 87-year-old Grosse Pointe Woods resident Robert (Bob) Broderson.

“The saying is: people retire and they die young. So many people spend their whole life working and have a hard time quitting and a lot of people can’t,” said Broderson, who’s been semi-retired for 23 years.

For that reason, the former salesman stays busy. For years he’s appeared around the city: at the Farm’s park as a gate guard, as a kitchen hand at The Helm and St.Veronica’s Church, an assistant at the Verheyden Funeral Home, and as a chauffeur for seniors around the city, visiting their doctors.

“I would be bored if I didn’t do this. The work thing for me is a pastime,” he said, adding, “All through my life, I have always been involved with charitable work.”

Ready with a laugh and a story to share, Broderson said its the benefit of feeling good, the camaraderie and the pride of “doing something that somebody else didn’t do,” that has motivated him throughout his life.

“You get up in the morning… you start each day doing the right thing.. And it gets you started on the right path everyday,” he said.

As a younger man, he began his career in the engineer division at Chrysler before being drafted into the Korean war and serving in the military for two years. He returned home, but after a taste of the world, he was eager for adventure.

“I always get along with everybody. So I went into sales and I started selling motorcycle accessories,” he said.

His independent spirit and outgoing personality made the transition to traveling salesman easy. Motorcycle parts were exchanged for carnation milk products and then hospital-grade surgical equipment. Before long, Broderson was abroad again, visiting trade shows in every region of the world, speaking “15 words in almost every language.”

“Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, all over Europe… Scandinavia… My mom always said I had wanderlust… she said she always saw my feet and the back of my head, because I was always running away,” Broderson said.

The constant support from his late wife, Doris Ann, and his three children, Jill (Wild), Laura (Court), and Gerry, made it easier for Broderson to pursue his passion for business and adventure.

“When people tell me they are travel people and they come home every weekend, you’re not getting it. I had 14 southern states and that was back in the 50’s. There were no express ways, so I was gone two or three months at a time.

“It was difficult… but my wife was very understanding, she took the reins, like most women do,” he said. 

“You know most guys think, we bring home the bacon and we are really something, but the reality is that the women really hold everything together, the family. They are the core,” Broderson said.

After his wife’s passing, Broderson continued to travel and work. Thirteen years later, he was lucky enough to find love again with Myra Cartwright. They enjoy doing many things together including volunteering, reading and visiting the Detroit Film Theater.

“You know, I’m not much for giving a lot of advice, but each one needs to follow his own path… Like the witch that met the two kids on the road… she warned the children not to take a path. And guess which path they took? They took the path she told them not to go on... but that doesn’t mean they did wrong. They did what they felt they had to do,” Broderson said.

Life isn’t over when you retire, Broderson said. Actually, “Don’t retire,” he said.

“My advice, is go with your heart and what you feel inside. And if it’s just charity work, then stay active. Don’t be old bones, you know. Be active. Do what you want to do. Even hobbies… Don’t retire."

Published in Grosse Pointe News