92-year-old Veteran shares secret to long life at the Golden Age Games

At 92, Air Force Veteran Curtis Parker still walks into every competition venue with the same goal he has embraced for decades: enjoy the moment, give it his best and leave with a smile.

That approach paid off at the 2026 National Veterans Golden Age Games in Tampa, Florida, where Parker claimed a gold medal in billiards after an unexpected twist in the championship match.

“The other guy scratched on the eight ball,” Parker recalled with a grin. “That put me in first place.”

A gold medal is nice, but it’s hardly the reason Parker keeps returning to the Games. For him, the medals are only a small part of a week built around friendships, shared experiences and proving that age doesn’t define what is possible.

“I love these guys,” he said of the George E. Whalen VA Medical Center recreational therapy Veteran team in Salt Lake City. “I go shooting and golfing with them. I’ve done cornhole and whatever else. It’s inspiring just to watch them doing their sports.”

From service to staying active

Parker served in the Air Force from 1952 to 1954 during the Korean War era. More than seven decades later, at home in South Jordan, Utah, he practices on the family pool table and carries weights to keep in shape.

“It’s a lot of work trying to keep my strength up,” he said.

Golf presented a different challenge in Tampa. Oppressive heat and humidity made for a difficult round, but Parker still battled through to finish second in his division.

“It was hot,” Parker said. “It was hard to play my normal game.” Still, he shrugged off his score the same way he has learned to handle all life’s setbacks.

“Some days are good,” he said. “Some days are not so good.”

His wife, Sylvia, 86, has watched that outlook carry her husband through years of competition. She believes the Games give him a reason to stay active long after many people his age would have slowed down.

“I think it has inspired him to keep in shape,” she said. “He’s walking around holding up five-pound weights in his hands at home because he is going to compete in air pistol. That pistol gets heavy after a while.”

The Games have also become meaningful for Sylvia, who has found her own way to contribute. Last year she volunteered to guide a visually impaired golfer, helping line up his shots, describing distances and providing encouragement throughout the course. This year she reunited with the same Veteran.

“He said, ‘I’m so glad to see you again,” Sylvia shared. “It feels good to help someone.”

Life beyond the Games

Back home, the Parkers stay busy in their senior community, where Sylvia started a line dancing class and a mahjong group while Curtis continues practicing for competitions.

But perhaps Parker’s greatest accomplishment cannot be measured by medals.

Through adaptive sports, he has built friendships that extend well beyond the playing field. He regularly visits a fellow Veteran receiving dialysis, whom he affectionately calls his adopted son after the younger man began calling him “Pop.” He also befriended another Veteran who uses a wheelchair, visiting him after the loss of his emotional support dog and encouraging him to get out of the house for dinner and conversation.

Earlier this year, Parker also traveled on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., where he joined fellow Korean War Veterans in receiving the Korean Defense Medal from a representative of the Republic of Korea. It was another reminder that bonds formed through military service often continue long after the uniform is put away.

As one of the oldest competitors at this year’s Games, Parker enjoys surprising people who ask where he grew up.

“I tell them I haven’t grown up,” he said with a laugh. “I try to show that at 92 you can still have fun.”

As long as he can pick up a pool cue, swing a golf club or raise an air pistol, Parker plans to keep competing.

“You bet,” he said when asked about returning to the Games next year. “I want to keep going as long as I can.”