WS Chronicle

By Kate Grimmett

Lindsay Tise recently celebrated his 104th birthday and happily shares two of the things he’s loved most in life: his wife and golf. In fact, he credits playing golf for over 90 years with helping him reach yet another milestone birthday. Tise stated, “It’s been a big help to me both physically and mentally.” 

Tise is proud of his home and is grateful to continue living in it. This is understandable considering he designed, built, and lived there since 1950. It was inspired by what is now a carefully folded and worn photo of another house – the dream house his late wife carried inside her pocketbook during their first years of marriage. Tise wanted to make her dreams come true so he found the plans and set to work, hauling stone from Pilot Mountain one truckload at a time until her perfect house was built.

Tise started his life on the ‘greens’ as a caddie at Forsyth Country Club. It didn’t take long to go from carrying the clubs to swinging them. “I made good friends with the assistant pro up there and we’d go out on a private course and go play golf.”

Tise grew to love the game but had to put golf on hold when he transitioned from working with his father at a bottling company to attending school to study electronics due to economic and supply changes during World War II. After graduation, he worked on some of the first televisions produced with Magnavox products. Once he found himself in the position to restart golf, he did not stop until last year after competing in the national 2022 Senior Games. After winning at the local and state levels, he represented Forsyth County at the nationwide competition for people 50 and older. At 103 he was the oldest of 14,000 competitors and won a championship medal (one of many he has earned over the years) even though he competed in the much younger 80-year-old category!

Tise doesn’t get out to play the course much these days since he stopped driving. He spends most of his time in and around his home and is thankful for the opportunity to remain there. He believes that participating in the Senior Services Meals-on-Wheels program is helping make that possible. Tise looks forward to the hot, nutritious meals and friendly interaction with volunteers each weekday.

“It’s always nice to see the smiling faces bring Meals-on-Wheels … they are so appreciated.”

Tise is aware that it would be difficult to stay in the home he built his life around without Meals-on-Wheels. “It’s a needed service – I need this.”

Tise said that the secret to a long life is lots of love, “[my wife] fed me well for 71 years.” Senior Services and its Meals-on-Wheels volunteers are proud to take up the torch for her, delivering nutritious meals to Tise and many other older adults just like him, so that they can remain in the homes they love, living with dignity and aging with purpose.

Individuals and groups interested in volunteering to deliver Meals-on-Wheels can contact Tyler Smith, Senior Service volunteer and community relations coordinator, at 336-721-6961 or email tsmith@seniorservicesinc.org.

Kate Grimmett is the marketing coordinator for Seniors Services.