From ‘Living Retired’ to Living Well: Meet Gary Chalk, our newest columnist

Gary Chalk, a St. George resident and retired healthcare communications professional, is bringing his wit and storytelling to The Paris Independent as its newest weekly humour columnist.

Casandra Turnbull

Managing Editor

If you’ve ever turned a quiet Monday morning into a laugh-out-loud moment with a simple email, you already have something in common with Gary Chalk.

The St. George resident, who’s a self-described lifelong observer of life’s quirks, is the newest voice joining the pages of The Paris Independent, bringing his widely followed humour column Living Retired to local readers each week. And while his writing may feel effortless, it all started with a simple habit shortly after he stepped away from a decades-long career in healthcare communications.

“I was very fortunate to be able to retire early. My first day was Monday May 1, 2013 and I sent a silly email to a few friends,” Chalk recalled. “I wrote ‘Living Retired’ in the subject line. They all responded, so I did it again the following Monday morning, again a similar reaction. This is when I realized I should try to write a humour column.” 

That “silly email” has since grown into a weekly column now in its 13th year, reaching readers across North America and even overseas. It’s a journey that might surprise those who knew him in his school days.

“I was not a good student all through school, particularly secondary school - my sense of humour getting me in trouble,” Chalk admitted, a trait that followed him into his early broadcasting days where mispronunciations and missed alarms became part of the learning curve. 

But that same sense of humour would eventually become his greatest strength.

After a career that included everything from radio and advertising to more than 20 years leading strategic communications in healthcare, Chalk says storytelling has always centred on people.

“I wrote over 1,000 newspaper columns about healthcare, always putting the person I was writing about at the centre — I believe no one tells the story better,” he said. 

Now, his focus has shifted from hospitals to humour but the heart remains the same.

Living Retired taps into the everyday experiences of baby boomers, a group Chalk says shares more in common than people might think, regardless of where they live.

“I have been a lifelong resident of this area, and have come to realize through writing Living Retired that baby boomers are much the same whether they live in large cities or small towns, across Canada and the US and beyond,” said Chalk, a St. George resident. 

His writing doesn’t shy away from poking fun at life, including his own. Politics might get the occasional “quick jab,” but don’t expect long-winded commentary.

“My writing begins with reflecting on something that I find humorous and go from there hopefully ending up with a story that you gotta laugh at,” he said. 

And while Gary may be the one putting pen to paper, he’s quick to point out there’s an editor behind the scenes who keeps him in check.

“My wife Jan is central to the column, I am so appreciative! She brings the women’s voice to Living Retired… And Jan is the editor of my column, so she has final say!” 

Beyond the page, Chalk’s humour has found new life on airwaves and stages. His Living Retired on the Radio segment airs weekly on Kitchener’s CityNews, and he’s become a sought-after speaker at community events, service clubs and retirement gatherings all the while proving that retirement, for him, is anything but slowing down.

“Being fortunate to retire early, I was young and I knew I wanted to do something creative using my writing skills, but I wanted to challenge myself and get outside my comfort zone,” he said. 

That willingness to try something new was paired with a knack for finding humour in the everyday. This is exactly what readers can expect each week.

Because in a world that often feels a little too serious, Gary Chalk is here to remind us that sometimes, the best stories are the ones that make us laugh, especially at ourselves.

To learn more about the Chalk, visit www.LivingRetired.press and watch next week’s edition of the Paris Independent for his debut column.