Meet John Cluff

Stroll into the Senior Center on Thursday morning and you will find John greeting you at the front desk. John originally got involved with the Senior Center playing pinochle about 10 years ago. A few years later, he offered to help with some accounting while one of our staff members was out — and then continued to help with it three days per week for a while. John enjoyed volunteering at the Senior Center so much that he began working at the front desk in 2017.

We feel fortunate that John makes time for the Senior Center, as he is extremely busy serving his community. John puts his bachelor’s degree in accounting to work by enjoying the role of treasurer on the Board of Directors of three different organizations — the Senior Center of West Seattle, Harley-Davidson, and his condo association. He also serves on a Sound Generations committee that has representatives from each senior center.

John was born in Germany, attended high school in France, and moved often while his dad served in the military. He completed his undergraduate studies at Pacific University in Oregon and received his master’s degree from the University of Iowa. It was at Pacific University that he met his wife, Micki, of 44 years. Micki is also a Senior Center volunteer, doing shifts in our Stop ‘N Shop thrift store.

When John is not busy computing numbers and helping seniors, his favorite hobby is riding his Harley. As a child, John always wanted a motorcycle, but his mom said, “NO!”… as most moms would. When John was 50, his mother passed away, and shortly thereafter, he bought his first Harley. A fun thing to know about John is that he has been to every single state in the country. It was in John’s 50th year that he visited his 50th state — Alaska. John continues to love to travel. He and Micki are planning a trip to Antarctica in 2023. He also enjoys reading and playing pinochle with friends he’s made from the Senior Center.

Hopefully, we can keep John coming back for years to come — he loves the social interactions he gets volunteering here. He enjoys the people and continuing to learn through his work. He says it “keeps his mind sharp” and there is “always something going on!” Thank you, John!

-Senior Center of West Seattle