Doris Drucker: A Remarkable Life

The remarkable life, personally and professionally, of Doris Drucker, who died on October 1 at 103; represents an inspiration for healthy, productive aging. She and Peter Drucker were married for 68 years, until his death at 95 in 2005. They had four children and six grandchildren. Many of the details of her life (including writing, editing, work as a registered patent agent, and as an entrepreneur) are captured in some of the terrific tributes now online, which also describe her devotion to exercise and competitive sports:

The Drucker Institute: In Memoriam: Doris Drucker
Drucker School of Management/Claremont Graduate University: The Drucker School mourns the passing of Doris Drucker
Forbes/Steve Denning: How the Drucker Forum Was Born: A Tribute to Doris Drucker
Los Angeles Times:  Doris Drucker dies at 103; memoirist and wife of Peter Drucker
Claremont Courier: Doris Drucker: Author, inventor, wife of Peter Drucker

In 2004, I interviewed her and wrote a USA TODAY review of her wonderful memoir, Invent Radium or I’ll Pull Your Hair. (You can read an excerpt of the book at the University of Chicago Press website.) I also interviewed and wrote about her in Living in More Than More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life. I noted that she was a great example of personal reinvention; in her case two after the age of 80: starting her company RSQ in her 80s, and publishing her book in her early 90s.

When she was in her early 50s, she earned a physics degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and was profiled by the FDU magazine in 2005. And in recent years she blossomed as a public speaker, evident online from her speech at the first Global Peter Drucker Forum, in Vienna (2009) and her video message for the 5th Global Peter Drucker Forum, last year.

We can combine sadness at Doris Drucker’s passing with a crucial question: What are the life lessons that each of us can learn from her, and how can we start applying those lessons right away?