BOWLING GREEN, Ohio —
The Wood County Committee on Aging said goodbye to a trailblazer last month after executive director Denise Niese passed away.
She led the WCCOA for nearly 20 years to give seniors a better quality of life.
"I would need at least a lifetime to tell you about Denise ... her legacy," said board member, Nancy Orel.
Niese took over as executive director in 2006. Orel said her friend and former colleague was only the second person to lead the organization since opening in 1973.
"She always said that she was an old soul and that she could relate better with older adults than she could with a younger population," Orel said.
Up until her passing last month, Orel said Niese moved mountains for Wood County's oldest population.
She was responsible for developing dozens of programs and activities, but most notably, Niese secured funding for Bowling Green's 36,000-square-foot state-of-the-art senior center.
"One of her primary goals was to make sure that the senior center was accredited," Orel said. "So this senior center was the first to be accredited in the state of Ohio."
She also made it her mission to ensure that even the most isolated seniors weren't forgotten.
"One of the things that she always stressed was, with our home-delivered meal program, that it was more than just giving a hot meal, but it was a well check to make sure that those older adults were having some sort of contact," Jason Miller, manager of human resources with WCCOA said.
Miller said that while Niese may have been short in stature, she stood tall as a giant when it came to helping the elderly.
"No matter what your socioeconomic status was - it didn't matter. If you were an older adult, she was here to advocate for you and ensure that you got the services that you needed or the social activity and interaction that you needed," Miller said.
Since Niese's passing, Orel said many seniors have asked about the future of the Senior Center, activities and the home meal delivery program.
"They recognized how important Denise was. We had to reassure them that, no, it will continue," Orel said.
Miller said Niese wouldn't want them to do it any other way.
"I could almost hear her saying, you know, 'There's no time to stop. Keep giving out those home-delivered meals,'" Miller said.
There will be a celebration of life for Niese on Saturday, Jan. 11 from 1-6 p.m. at the Wood County Senior Center. It is open to the public.