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Former Board of Directors member and friend of Forever Learning Institute, Don Mitchell, passed away on Friday, August 19. Don will be long remembered at Forever for his humble service to our school. Please see his full obituary and services by clicking the name above.

Jack Williams, whose phenomenal intellect and love of learning blessed Forever Learning for years, passed away on June 15, 2022. His students will greatly miss his amazing grasp of politics, history and culture. Please see his full obituary by clicking above.

Ralph Edward Radecki, beloved teacher, supporter and friend of Forever Learning Institute passed away on Saturday, July 9, 2022. Ralph spent his life teaching Latin, art and classical literature and we are honored that he chose Forever Learning to continuing sharing his gifts in retirement. His many students and friends will miss him greatly. Please click on his name above for Ralph's full obituary.

Forever Learning Institute has long enjoyed a close relationship with the University of Notre Dame. Our founder, Rev. Louis Putz, C.S.C. lived and taught at Notre Dame his entire adult life. Throughout our history, we have been blessed to host numerous faculty, retired faculty, and alumni who have found Forever Learning to be a great outlet for their many gifts. University students have discovered Forever to be an excellent opportunity to engage with the local community in unexpected ways. This semester, members of the student club CS4Good taught a class entitled ‘Internet Safety and Communication’ at Forever Learning. Each week Rebecca Hunt, Jane Stallman, Andrew Pelham and Isaiah Michael Alvendia assisted our students with password hygiene, scam detection, privacy protection and social media. Students from the club have also assisted in our basic computing classes. University students have taught origami, Mandarin and assisted us with setup and cleanup of fundraising events.

It is with heavy hearts that we need to announce the passing of our beloved board member, teacher, and friend, Br. Paul Kelly, C.S.C. His sweet, gentle nature and fantastic cooking skills will be missed by us all. Please remember him and his family in your prayers.

Forever Learning will host a six-week remote learning semester through January and February 2022, offering students the opportunity to stay involved from the comfort and safety of home. We are offering German, Chair Yoga, Demystifying Medicare, the Natural History of Indiana with St. Joseph County Park naturalists, Sign Language, a study of the novel Wuthering Heights and a Watercolor Workshop. Registration opens December 1.

Join us to celebrate a lifetime of learning as IUSB honor students host a short walk to celebrate our mutual love of learning. We will meet on Saturday, November 13 at 2 p.m. in Veterans Memorial Park. Please bring your family, friends and pets to stroll along the beautiful river path with fellow learners. There is no cost for this event, just a fun way of enjoying the fall weather with students of every generation.

We are again saddened to post the loss of a special person, teacher and beloved member of our Silvertones Glee Club, Andrew Betts. Andrew served Forever Learning Institute for many years and will be long remembered for his gentle heart and ready joke. Please keep Andrew's family in your prayers.

Forever Learning Institute lost a beloved teacher and friend this week, Dr. Steven Gable. Steve began teaching literature at Forever in 2015 and has not missed a semester since. His love of a well constructed sentence, his amazing knowledge and unending humor drew students to his classes year after year. Steve typically taught an American classic novel including the works of William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck. Steve also taught a class on American Presidential Elections and created a course describing the works of art and stained glass windows in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of The University of Notre Dame with amazing and fascinating details of the history and symbolism of each work. During the pandemic and forced move to Zoom, Steve continued to lead his classes each week. "Steve's classes were the highlight of my week, and they helped me get through Covid's shutdowns, stress, and losses thanks to Steve's insight, humor and hope. He also brought me back to classic literature, not only reminding me what I had loved and missed about these kind of books and stories but also showing what depths of understanding were still to be gained from the literature, from his scholarship and perspective, and from the wisdom waiting in group discussions led by a kind, thoughtful, and hilarious instructor," said one of his students. "I know I will finish reading All the King's Men someday, when the tears diminish, because Steve would want us to, and I will try to hear his voice and hang on to the gifts he gave all of us." We struggled to put words together that would do Steve justice, but find that this beautifully worded obituary does in for us. We too, will miss him forever.

This spring, students in Dr. Joshua Koen’s “Cognitive Aging” course at Notre Dame completed a final project to discuss an issue in cognitive aging research, with the goal of publishing these short essays as online blog posts and distributing printed copies to members of the Forever Learning Institute. Topics spanned a broad range, including: the benefits of yoga, types of memory aids for use in aging populations, cultural differences in views of ’successful aging’, how bereavement affects cognition, and much more. These short essays can be found online at https://koenlab.org/category/cogaging-student-blogs/ and physical copies are available for pick-up at the Forever Learning Institute. Notre Dame students welcome feedback from FLI members on the short essays, and said feedback can be submitted to koenlab@nd.edu with the subject line “Student Essay Feedback” for distribution to the individual authors. Consider providing feedback if you found a topic particular interesting, if there was anything you found confusing, or if you have constructive advice on how they can grow as writers for a public audience.

Forever Learning will host a free zoom presentation hosted by Patrick W. Thomas, Director, Notre Dame Tax Clinic on Friday, April 16, 2021, 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Join us for this free presentation covering a variety of issues facing seniors in preparing their taxes. Topics covered will include: • Filing a tax return for a deceased spouse • The new Form 1040 SR • How to file a return when your spouse has a cognitive functioning impairment • Credit for the Elderly or Disabled • Social security benefits • How to choose a tax preparer • How to file your taxes for free • Common tax filing errors We will include a question-and-answer period and participating students are invited to submit questions or topic areas of interest prior to the event. Please email any questions to eve@foreverlearninginstitute.org. There is no charge for this event, but please register by clicking on the link above.

Though teaching through a pandemic can be challenging, one of our faculty members, Cathy Roe, has produced some amazing exercise and dance videos to keep students moving, even while home. Cathy's Vitalicious YouTube channel will please students of all fitness levels. The videos are geared toward senior adult fitness and healing. Cathy is the 2019, 2020 Ms. Senior Michigan with a platform of senior health, wellness and vitality, and is currently teaching Chair Yoga for Forever Learning. Cathy's upbeat attitude and excellent instructions are spot on! Do yourself a favor and click on the headline to view Cathy's inspirational YouTube channel. Keep moving Forever!

Winter is here and planning is underway for our Spring 2021 semester as we dream of sunnier days to come! Classes will again follow our traditional 10-week format beginning Monday, March 1. Forever is planning to host an all-Zoom semester this spring, but as our community becomes vaccinated, we are ready to pivot to in-person classes as soon as we can do so in a safe environment. Like other area non-profits, Forever has counted on the generosity of our students, volunteers, and community friends for financial support this year. We have received an outpouring of support and have been able to continue offering programming and remain strong as we move through this difficult period. Our Board of Directors has determined the necessity of increasing tuition to $55.00 per course beginning Spring 2021. Amazingly, this is the first tuition increase Forever has instituted since 2006. As always, scholarships are available as we strive to meet the needs of all our students regardless of their ability to pay. We anticipate posting our Spring 2021 catalog of classes on our CourseStorm registration portal on January 25. Registrations will be conducted online. As always, please watch our website and Facebook pages for timely information. If you are not receiving our monthly eNewsletter, you may sign up by submitting the form on this page.

The Psychology Department at the University of Notre Dame is seeking research volunteers in their Memory, Aging and Cognition Laboratory. Dates and times for participating are flexible. If you would like to take part or receive further information about our studies, please call or email us at: Email: koenlab@nd.edu or Phone: (574) 634-0264

On January 15, 2020, St. Joseph County was officially accepted into AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. In doing so, the Board of Commissioners committed to working toward improving the quality of life for all residents, regardless of age. The county is now conducting a survey to gather community input on several key service areas: outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, work and civic engagement, communication and information, and community and health services. Any county resident over the age of 45 can participate. The responses will assist community leaders identify areas that need improvement and develop a plan to address those areas. Please complete the survey by using the provided link.

We know that many of our students are eagerly awaiting our fall 2020 session! Course Guides will be mailed at the end of July. We will be offering 40 courses this semester however, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Forever Learning Institute courses will be offered in an e-learning only format, with the exception of our walking program at St. Joseph County Parks. Students are encouraged to download Zoom and familiarize themselves to the application prior to the start of classes. If you need assistance with this, please contact director@foreverlearninginstitute.org or call the office to schedule a meeting time and we will help you get started. Once you register for your class, you will receive a Zoom invitation that you can use each week to meet your instructor and fellow students in a virtual classroom setting. A pdf of the Course Guide is available in the tab marked Forever Classes. All courses will be available for online registration beginning August 17.

What is Bendable? Administered by the St. Joseph County Public Library, Bendable is a community-based lifelong learning system. It allows residents of all ages and backgrounds to easily acquire new knowledge and skills through online courses as well as in-person learning opportunities. Bendable promises to forge a “city of lifelong learning,” making South Bend more resilient in the face of a fast-changing economy. To sign up, please go to bendable.com. All you need is a library card to access learning opportunities throughout Michiana.

Silvertones soprano, Gloria Campanale, passed away at age 92 on Wednesday, January 29. Gloria took great joy in singing with the Silvertones and her smile will be greatly missed. Please see her full obituary by clicking on her name above.

Forever Learning was saddened to learn of the passing of former Executive Director and volunteer, Sister Mary Edith. The following notice was posted on the Sisters of the Holy Cross website: https://www.cscsisters.org/in-loving-memory-sister-mary-edith-daley/

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Fr. Bill Neidhart, C.S.C., beloved priest and friend of Forever Learning Institute, teaching here for many years. Fr. Bill passed away on Wednesday, January 22. A 7:30 p.m. Vigil Service is planned for Tuesday, January 28 at Moreau Seminary. His Funeral Mass will be Wednesday, January 29 at 3:30 p.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.