Many Deupree House residents have created solid friendships, enriching each other’s lives as they share and appreciate one another’s stories and accomplishments.
Bob Nau and Jay Magee have forged such a friendship.
Both World War II veterans and family men, Nau and Magee share an enjoyable mission: They walk together almost every day, talking about their lives.
Their walks started not long after the two moved into Deupree House with their wives in 2014 — Jay and Edna Magee in June; Bob and Joan Nau in October.
“I ran into him one day when he was down; he was beat,” recalls Nau, 96. “I said something to him about what was wrong, and he told me then that his wife had passed away.”
As their daily walks continued, their conversations eventually turned to golf. Even though Magee had played golf for Withrow High School and was, according to Nau, much better at the game, Nau liked to joke with him, “I’m going to show you how a good golfer plays.”
Nau soon learned that Magee not only loved to walk but that he had frequently done so throughout his life. He had walked to school, while in the military, and even to Cincinnati Milacron where he worked as a foreman for 36 years. He also walked golf courses as a player and caddy at Hyde Park Country Club.
One day, Nau asked Magee where he walked on Saturdays. Magee replied, “I go to Wendy’s to get a sandwich.” Nau asked if he could join him. Magee answered, “Yes.”
“So, I started to walk with him to Wendy’s, and that’s where I began to find out all this information,” Nau says. “We’d go, get a hamburger and sit there for probably an hour.”
Magee, the father of three sons, enlisted with the Marines on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal for five months with the 1st Marine Division, 1st Battalion, C Company. The diseases malaria and jungle rot were also his enemies.
Decades after the war, Magee received an award at the White House for saving a pilot’s life following an emergency ocean landing about a mile from a Pacific island. Magee gave the pilot, who couldn’t swim, floating debris to hold on to. Magee then swam ashore and sent an islander to rescue the pilot.
Nau served with the Army from 1944 to 1946 with the America Division, the first infantry division to arrive in Japan just four hours after the Armistice was signed aboard the USS Missouri. He is a father of five. Nau’s wife, Joan, died in 2018.
As a teenager, Magee didn’t have a car. “So, I had to walk,” he says, explaining his lifelong mode of exercise. He walks these days because it gives him an opportunity to release some energy. “I was very fortunate in meeting Bob, and we became friends, and we did things together,” Magee adds.
Nau, a retired quality control supervisor for the roofing division at Owens Corning — and an avid conversationalist — still lives at Deupree House. He participates in many activities, including leading the Rosary during Lent and after Easter. He also enjoys chatting with friends at Deupree Cottages where Magee now resides so that he can receive more daily living assistance.
Magee, now 99, continues to stroll about with the help of a walker, and he also enjoys the bus rides residents take each week. Nau lists his two favorite things about living at Deupree House as the people and the food.
Connecting personally and socially with others is instrumental in encouraging a healthy lifestyle as people age. And Nau and Magee’s strong bond exemplifies the invigorating friendships, the enduring connections, often formed at Deupree House.
“That man is a beautiful man,” Magee says of his buddy. “He’s got to have somebody to do things with, too, like everybody else. You’ve got to have something to look forward to for the next day.”
Why not take some time to learn more about Deupree House? Contact Karen Immell, interim community relations director at 513.561.4200 or kimmell@erslife.org, or visit deupreehouse.com. Deupree House is located at 3939 Erie Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45208.