Andy Petro, 86, is stopped by neighbors six times a day at his senior living community in Roseville, California. One of my neighbor's boyfriends can't receive text messages. Some people cannot switch the brightness. Also, one woman wants to learn how to send her grandson happy birthday balloons through a screen.
“It was like opening a candy store, and all the candy was free,” Petro said. Mr. Petro modestly admits that he has solved 90% of his Apple-related troubles he has encountered.
Recently, a woman stopped Peter during dinner because she couldn't get through on the phone. Petro arrived at her door within an hour. “It just eliminates the need to drive to the Apple Store,” Petro said. luck. “Now she can make phone calls. It's great.”
He is known to his family as Andy, but to the seniors at Sonrisa Senior Living he is the knowledgeable Mr. Apple.
In addition to tapping him on the shoulder for last-minute assistance, people are also blocking Peter's time to listen to his technical talks. Mr. Petro is a member of the Senior Center, an organization for people who want to get the most out of the iPhone's capabilities, as president of the Apple Club, and in the Community Theater from the age of 75 to the age of 95. We host monthly 1-hour classes with ~25 neighbors. he answers questions. He will explain new features and updates and give tips on the best ways to communicate (he should have the latest version himself). A long-time technology expert and teacher, he loves contributing and helping people gain confidence in new ways of communicating as they age.
“My brain is still working, so I brought all my knowledge and became Mr. iPhone Guy,” he says.
When Petro joined the Marines in the late 1950s, he was encouraged to study electronics before being transferred to a base in Japan. After his discharge, he secured a job in the aviation industry in Southern California. Over the next few decades, in between his work and entrepreneurship, he also taught classes in technology and business. He was one of his most loyal customers when the first Apple devices came out in the 1970s.
“I fell in love with Apple products when the first ones came out,” he says, and bought an Apple II Plus computer system. He soon noticed the effect it had on his son, who suffered from dyslexia and did not do well in his school.
François Rochon via Getty
“A miracle happened,” he says. “He can type now, and when he was typing, he didn't have the dyslexia problems that he had when he was holding a pencil in his hand and writing.”
New technology impacted his family, but it also encouraged him to continue learning and teaching others throughout his career. Therefore, teaching at his senior living center was not far from his former base.
After retiring at age 70, Petro and his wife moved into an independent home in a senior living community near family. There he was first introduced to his Apple club and joined its board of directors for 15 years. As he got older and moved into a senior living facility, he started his own technology club for the residents.
Some of what he teaches is relatively elementary, but if you put your ego aside and the problem is outside your wheelhouse, you can ask your neighbor to go to the Apple Store or their cell phone carrier. help you find the location.
“People who come to my classes are so eager to learn something new that they love it and feel good about themselves,” he says, adding that they often take photos and text their families. It is said that there are times when “This really allows them to communicate a little better with their grandchildren and children.”
Andy Petro
Petro emphasizes that people underestimate older people and assume they don't want to know the latest information. But many people want to streamline their communications and use the new features, especially for those who may have Parkinson's disease and need to learn how to use voice recognition to limit input on the screen. He says he's keen to find a way. “Every time a new version is released, there's so much in it that's useful for an 85-year-old or he's a 90-year-old,” Petro says.
It's not a bad thing that Petro can interact with countless newcomers, since he's likely to be stopped dozens of times before his next official class.
“When I got here, I said, 'Anyone interested in Apple should come and see me,'” he says.
If you have a personal story about a senior 80+ who is sharing life lessons, finding new hobbies and skills, and empowering older adults, please contact alexa.mikhail@fortune.com. Contact Please.
