Remembering History: Ethel Percy Andrus (1884-1967). In retirement in the mid-1940s, she became a champion of and advocate for the interests and needs of the elders in society after discovering a retired teacher forced by poverty to live in a chicken coop. Galvanized to action, in 1947, at age 63, she founded NRTA (then called the National Retired Teachers Association) and in 1958, at age 73, she founded AARP. Today, AARP is the largest nonprofit organization in the world, with 37 million members.

Ethel Percy Andrus (1884-1967). In retirement in the mid-1940s, she became a champion of and advocate for the interests and needs of the elders in society after discovering a retired teacher forced by poverty to live in a chicken coop. Galvanized to action, in 1947, at age 63, she founded NRTA (then called the National Retired Teachers Association) and in 1958, at age 73, she founded AARP. Today, AARP is the largest nonprofit organization in the world, with 37 million members.

Ethel Percy Andrus (1884-1967). In retirement in the mid-1940s, she became a champion of and advocate for the interests and needs of the elders in society after discovering a retired teacher forced by poverty to live in a chicken coop. Galvanized to action, in 1947, at age 63, she founded NRTA (then called the National Retired Teachers Association) and in 1958, at age 73, she founded AARP. Today, AARP is the largest nonprofit organization in the world, with 37 million members.