At the age of 56 most people are thinking about retirement. Not Eileen Cox – she was just entering the work force. It was July 1978 when Cox began her career at Eastern Agency on Aging.

“I saw the ad in the paper and on kind of a whim I applied,” said Cox, now 79. “I was familiar with the agency anyway, having taken my father for services.”

Up until that time Cox was a stay-at-home mom to two boys and filled her days with volunteer work for such organizations as Symphony Women, Jay-Cee Wives, EMMC Auxiliary, St. Joseph’s Auxiliary and League of Women Voters, to name a few. She also assisted her husband, William A. Cox Jr., Penobscot County commissioner, with his political career.

“Everyone volunteered in those days,” said Cox. “None of my friends had jobs outside the home.” Yet, the EAA job struck something in her. And while he was surprised, her husband gave his blessing and Cox became gainfully employed.

Sadly, he passed away in 1982. Cox credits her job at EAA with helping her through that difficult time.

“It really kept me busy after he was gone,” she said. For 24 years, Cox assisted thousands of seniors with as many problems.

She began as an outreach worker covering Bangor, Hermon and Veazie.

“I really enjoyed going into people’s homes and helping them out. And after finding solutions for all the different situations I encountered,” she explained, “I realized how much I like to solve problems. That really interested me. In fact, my supervisor at the time once said to me, ‘I don’t know whether to call you Columbo or Don Quixote.'”

While she has held a few different positions at the agency, Cox was always a strong advocate for those who really needed her.

“People sometimes look at elderly who don’t have much money, and they don’t credit them with having much intelligence,” she said. “But they really don’t know them or their circumstances. It’s sad.”

One of her favorite tasks was helping Lila Marsh, then 97, obtain her U.S. citizenship. Marsh had moved to Maine from Nova Scotia when she was 9 years old, and government reform was about to stop her benefits because she was not a U.S. citizen. Cox helped her complete the applications for naturalization. Marsh is now 102 years old.

“Eileen is truly a remarkable woman,” said Roberta Downey, executive director of Eastern Agency on Aging. “She is an extraordinarily nice human being whose knowledge of programs and grasp of details allow her to really help people. She is very thoughtful, resourceful, and persistent.”

She has the unique but important ability to advocate tirelessly for clients without burning bridges behind her, added Downey.

Cox is now a Social Security and Insurance specialist and the coordinator for Maine Medicare Education Partnership. She trains volunteers to educate seniors on how to spot discrepancies in their Medicare statements, and helps fight fraud and abuse of the system. In a recent case, a medical supply store was billing Medicare rent on a hospital bed that was no longer in use because the client had entered a nursing home. The company was subsequently fined.

In another instance, Medicare was billed for a medical test that the client never received. Cox warns consumers to watch their statements carefully.

“I really love what I do and I’ve learned a lot more from clients than they ever have from me. The elderly can be very astute,” she said. “I’m really going to miss the people I work with, and

especially the clients.”

So why is she retiring now at the tender age of 79?

“I thought it was a good time to go while I’m still at the top of my game,” said Cox with a grin. “But you know what they say, old soldiers never die – they just fade away.”

And in that die-hard spirit, Cox has agreed to continue to “help out” EAA when needed.

That is good news for the agency.

“I can’t tell you how many people in the community say to me that they know Eileen, and think she is terrific,” said Downey.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on the programs and services of EAA, call Marilyn or Chuck at 941-2865 or log on www.eaaa.org.