Copyright Los Angeles Times
Having nurtured herself back from a deep depression following the death of a loved one, every day now holds the promise of adventure for Virginia “Ginger” Hayter, just steps away from her 92nd birthday. Although her body grows older, her curiosity to learn new things remains young. “When people ask me about getting old, I tell them, I don’t mind getting old, I mind getting feeble, and there’s a difference.” Hayter said. “Retirement years could be good years, just different. So if you don’t like change you’re going to be unhappy, because everything changes — people, situations, days, weather.” Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Hayter lived most of her adult life in Hoffman Estates, a northwestern suburb of Chicago where she and her husband reared five children. When the kids got older, Hayter became actively involved in public service. In the 1970s, she was elected to the first of her three, four-year terms as mayor of her village. A Chicago Tribune profile of Hayter in May 2000 listed a host of her interests at that time, “from helping deliver services to the needy to promoting soil and water conservation.” According to the newspaper, she was a member of the Community Economic Development Board, volunteered for a charitable program at her church, chaired the North Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District and was state education chairman of the Illinois Assn. of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. At 73, Hayter retired from her last elected position in Hoffman Estates, city clerk, after experiencing some health issues. “I couldn’t do the work then, and I couldn’t ask my staff to do it, so I retired,” said Hayter, who underwent hip replacement surgery after 40 years of public service. “[I was] grateful for the work, because I love solving problems and I like people.” Widowed at 51 and with her children grown, Hayter in 2007 left the Midwest and moved to Newport Beach to seek medical care and be closer to her family — including two grandchildren — who lived in Orange County. Once back on her feet, she sought volunteerism as a path to staying engaged. First, she joined the Newport Beach Art Foundation and became involved with the building of the Newport Beach Civic Center and its adjacent sculpture park projects. She continues to hold membership in the foundation. Her list of local endeavors soon expanded. “I wandered into the Newport Beach library and heard they needed volunteers,” said Hayter. “So I volunteered to work in the Friends of Newport Beach Library bookstore.” She then decided she liked nature and so signed up for various courses, from marine life to local geology, offered by the Muth Interpretative Center in Upper Newport Bay. After moving to the Newport Beach peninsula, and learning she was living on a sand bar that could become quicksand in the event of a tsunami, Hayter became concerned. So she got involved in the local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program. She joined OASIS Senior Center, where she became in charge of its library in 2010. She also taught two classes there, one on foreign affairs and the other on current events, and eventually became a board member of Friends of OASIS. In 2018, Hayter suffered a tragic loss when her daughter died of a brain aneurysm. “I began having accidents, including breaking both legs along with becoming clinically depressed and suicidal,” Hayter, who relocated to a board and care home in South County, said. “I isolated myself for four years, not talking, just reading as a way to spend time.” Now living in a different board and care in Nellie Gail Ranch as one of six occupants and three caregivers, she says she is once again loving life. Hayter, however is by no means housebound. The OC Access service is her chosen mode of transportation, whether she’s socializing with friends, seeing a movie, taking in the opera or participating in classes at Susi Q Senior Center in Laguna Beach. “The curiosity the child has needs to be fostered your whole life long,” Hayter said of her many pursuits. “I take classes in opera and classical composers and lectures on health at Susi Q and go on field trips to museums like Norton Simon through OASIS.” Friends of OASIS office manager Berenice Barajas said she has personally observed Hayter’s curiosity in action for more than 15 years. “Ginger is extremely intelligent and knowledgeable on so many topics,” said Barajas. “She has an interest in current events, history and the environment.”
