Bob Fletcher’s secrets to longevity

Next in the Boca Grande Health Clinic’s web video series, “Secrets to Longevity,” is Robert (Bob) Fletcher, one of the Island’s nonagenarians (those in their 90s). Watch Bob’s secrets to longevity, Episode 5.

After the passing of his parents, Robert (Bob) Fletcher, 91, took over the family’s small piano and organ business in the 1970s – back when mall king Edward DeBartolo Sr. was bringing his indoor shopping centers to Florida. Bob opened Fletcher Music as a general music store in Florida’s first mall and quickly focused on selling organs to the retirees of St. Petersburg. That became his business model. If there was a mall, there was bound to be a Fletcher Music store – 42 of them, in fact – in Florida, Arizona, Nevada and the Carolinas.

These days you’re more apt to find Bob enjoying retirement on the tennis court or riding his recumbent bike around the Island – two pastimes that help keep him healthy and happy.

Bob hesitates in offering health advice, “What works for one person may not work for another,” he says. But having lots of friends and living in Boca Grande certainly contributes to his longevity.

Change is always at play in life, and on the Island. One of the biggest – and according to Bob, the most beneficial – was the building of the Boca Grande Health Clinic. He credits his ongoing health to the care he and his family have been provided by what Bob calls “the best crew that we’ve ever had” at the Clinic.

Secrets to Longevity are short videos with Islanders telling their stories of living long, healthy and happy lives. You can see the series here: Secrets to Longevity.