Linda Layfield first got hooked on Alaska in 1978 when she took a vacation travelling on the Alaska Marine Highway. “At that time a person could get on and off the ferry at any port,” Linda said, “So, I got off at every port, snooped around, hiked, and met some very interesting people.” With just one little summer vacation, she was hooked on Alaska. Shortly after returning home to Portland, Oregon, a position within the State of Alaska opened in her field, and she jumped at the chance to return. Over the next twenty years she built a life in Juneau, working in various roles with students of all ages and educators in the education community. She spent time as Director of Community Schools and worked in various programs with SERRC (Southeast Regional Resource Center) in Adult Education, Alaska Close-Up, Improving America’s Schools, and other areas.

In 2000, another opportunity prompted her to travel with the Peace Corps, and luckily retirement afforded her the means. She said, “I left Alaska in January 2000 to serve in Uzbekistan as Administrative Officer of Peace Corps there. Shortly after 9/11 when the United States Government put in a military camp on the Uzbek border with Afghanistan, we had to evacuate all volunteers. After accomplishing that task, I was sent to the Baltic States Peace Corps to close down that post after a ten-year presence, since the break-up of the Soviet Union.” The story doesn’t end there. In her tenure with the Peace Corps, Linda also lived in Latvia, while working in Lithuania and Estonia. She also spent time in Côte d’Ivoire, during which civil war broke out and all volunteers were evacuated. From there she was sent on a temporary duty post to the Kingdom of Lesotho in Southern Africa. She finally settled for a few years in Antananarivo, Madagascar, her self-proclaimed favorite. “I was fortunate to serve for nearly five years,” she said, “Of the over twenty countries in which I have lived and worked, Madagascar is my favorite. The people are so lovely and the biodiversity of flora and fauna is amazing!” Of the work she said, “I never had only an eight-hour day. Most were more like ten to twelve, and sixteen sometimes, but I enjoyed it immensely and loved the folks with whom I worked in every country!”

With her time in the Peace Corps coming to an end, Linda returned home to Douglas, Alaska and reconnected with the landscape, working a part-time job as a hiking guide. As it happens, the summer proved to be particularly wet, so Linda was off again, moving with her husband down to the drier clime of Eastern Washington. “My husband and I loaded a U-Haul in November 2008, got on the ferry and headed for Yakima, Washington,” she said. With that, her adventures in Alaska came to a fitting end as her departure mirrored her arrival, with a trip on the Alaska Marine Highway.

During all her adventures and travels, Linda learned some things about how to make ends meet. One trick she shared with us, “I stashed money away for retirement in investments prior to retirement to add to what would be my retirement income.” Of her State of Alaska’s retirement, she said “It has given me GREAT health coverage for which I am very grateful. It has provided me with one of several sources of income to live comfortably in retirement and to travel extensively.” Linda’s parting advice to others interested in an active and adventure-filled retirement is this, “Start saving beyond what you get at work to supplement your retirement income.”

These days Linda has proclaimed she has “really retired.” Not to be slowed down, she keeps busy volunteering at the Mission to provide support for homeless, raising funds for her church, and working out almost daily. “I ski in the winter with the Desert Ski Club,” she said, “I hike all summer with a bunch of retired teachers, and my sister and I have loved hanging out with our 98-year-old Mom, who almost made it to 99 when she passed away this August! Life is GOOD!”

If you would like to learn more about how your State of Alaska retirement can allow you to enjoy a comfortable retirement, please contact the Division toll-free at (800) 821-2251 or at (907) 465-4460 in Juneau.

Inspired to share a story of your own? We'd love to hear it!