Renate Knight: Around the World in 69 Years

It’s 1964 in a bustling city somewhere in Germany.

Although it’s been nearly two decades since the fall of Nazi’s, the Iron Curtain’s cutting presence through the country and the looming specter of atomic war between the superpowers leaves Europe feeling anything but peaceful.  And yet one day, despite all of the international strife, a young German woman named Renate met a strapping American GI in a café, and the two found love amidst the roasty haze of the freshly brewed coffee in the air.

It may sound like a Nicholas Sparks novel, but to Renate -now 69 and an active volunteer in AARP’s Take A Stand campaign- the meeting of this couple (or “two young kids” as she warmly recalls) was the very real beginning to a new life in America.

After marrying in Germany, a 19 year old Renate and her new husband made their way back to the United States to settle in Massachusetts.  But right from the get-go, she knew that the life of a full-time homemaker wasn’t in the cards for her.

“I was here for three months and I just was so utterly bored. We moved into our apartment with no money and all borrowed furniture, and I said to myself ‘I’ve got to go to work.’”

Renate quickly found a full-time clerical position with a transistor plant in Wakefield. A year later, she and her husband would have their first child and move into a new home in Lowell.  Although stacked with all of the responsibilities of a new mother, she found time to work four or five hours a day in any number of odd jobs.  Even after a second child, she still managed to hold down part-time jobs doing everything from waitressing to light factory work.

Renate continued to leapfrog between short-term work until 1980 when she was offered a full-time position as a clerk at Honeywell – just three days after starting there as a temp.

“At that point I had two young children and I obviously had a decision to make,” she said.  “But I decided to take the job and it was the best thing I’ve ever done.”

If her promotion from temporary to full-time employee was impressive, Renate’s climb up the corporate ladder would be even more spectacular.  Recalling her lengthy resume, she detailed “start[ing] out as a Clerk, then I became a Secretary, then a Buyer, and then a Senior Buyer.” She’d work for Honeywell for 15 years before leaving to pursue other opportunities, eventually becoming a Commodity Manager for a home security company.

But then the story takes an unanticipated turn, or as Renate puts it: “2009 happened.”

She was laid off following the economic crisis only to be rehired by the same company the following autumn as a Contract Manager - a role she’d perform until 2014 when a rash of domestic outsourcing presented her with another pink slip. But this time, after a professional career spanning nearly half a century, Renate decided that she had earned her retirement. She spoke fondly of those first few years of relaxation, but much like the restless new bride who eagerly marched into a transistor factory, Renate said that she eventually “got to the point where I was bored, and that’s why I’m here with AARP.”

Her storied career in the corporate world combined with savvy investments have made her financially secure, but she remains skeptical of the idea that retirement should be wholly dependent upon the uncertainty of the stock market.

“Everyone talks about the 401K and that’s very nice, but I lost a lot on mine when the market went down in 2008; I didn’t pull any money out because I was working and I didn’t need it but there were other people who weren’t as lucky as me.” Going on to say that “the 401K is very good, but you’ve got to have something like Social Security in case things go downhill: it’s there, you know it’s there, and because of that you know you’re not going to fall through the bottom.”

Aside from her own status as a Social Security recipient, Renate’s views on the program are shaped by the loss of a son to a rare form of bone cancer. He applied for Social Security, but because he was a young student his benefits were severely limited. Thankfully, Renate was able to care for him until he passed away at the age of 27.

“When you’re ill and you need some help, Social Security isn’t always the easiest agency to deal with,” echoing the calls of many hoping to see the next president work for meaningful reforms toward strengthening the program.

These days, she enjoys spending time with her three grandchildren and takes great pleasure in traveling. This August she is touring the eastern side of Canada -Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Ontario, and in January she’s set to embark on an expedition to Southeast Asia, where she’ll tour Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Hong Kong. An extraordinary itinerary for just about everyone anyone, but to Renate it’s just the latest bout of wanderlust in life marked by a thirst for adventure.

A longing, she says, that has compounded with every passing year.

“It’s different as you get older,” she mused through a knowing smile. “You don’t want to own things anymore, you want to experience them.”