Former disc jockey Willie Jackson appreciates that LBFE gives elders a setting where they can "live our loud."

A genuine gentleman, our elder friend Willie Jackson adds sparkle to every event at Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly. His quick wit and charming manner make it easy to understand why he had an impressive broadcasting career. A highly sought-after disc jockey in the '70s and '80s, Willie (a.k.a. Super D, as in Dynamite) toured the Tennessee-Mississippi-Arkansas tri-state area, hosting his own live radio show on WLOK, Memphis, where he promoted famous labels, including Stax Records and celebrated artists like Al Green, The Soul Children and David Porter.
 

Willie's radio career is all the more impressive given the hard circumstances of his childhood. He never knew his father, and he and his four siblings ended up in different foster homes when his mother could no longer support the family. From the age of 12 to 18, Willie lived at a training school for boys, where he suffered significant abuse.

 
Willie's resilience shows when he speaks with gratitude of his new life in the Twin Cities. "I'll take Minnesota winters any day over the fear of growing old and alone in Memphis," he said. Willie arrived in the Twin Cities less than two years ago, and explains, "I came on a prayer because I heard this was a good place to grow old. I came without clothes against the cold. But the welcome I received from the Union Gospel Mission and LBFE warmed me more than any Tennessee sunshine ever could."

A man who naturally gravitates toward others, it makes his day when he knows he has an event to look forward to. "An LBFE party on the horizon lifts me out of the loneliness that can descend at night," he said.

Relieving that loneliness in the lives of other elders has become a passion for Willie. A believer in giving back, Willie makes it a priority to be there for others. Before attending holiday celebrations at LBFE, he puts in his own volunteer hours serving meals to the homeless at the Union Gospel Mission.

"With the baby boomers turning gray, we really need LBFE to be strong," Willie said. "I hate that so many seniors are afraid to step outside their own front doors. They need to know, as LBFE reminds me, that we elders are valuable -- that people care about our lives. We get to be seen, we get to be heard, and we get to live out loud. That's the legacy I want to help LBFE build."

 
Willie sees LBFE volunteers and donors creating a legacy, too. "When supporters invest in making elders' lives better, they set an example for the next generation of adults," he said. "It's a beautiful thing to know that an investment in LBFE, no matter what your age, is an investment in everyone's future."