Local singers of ‘a certain age’ open Washougal motocross event with ‘Star-Spangled Banner’

For most people, retirement is a time to slow down. For six Clark County singers, it’s become a chance to step into the spotlight. The newly formed vocal group, which calls itself Grateful Not Dead Yet, a tongue-in-cheek nod to its members’ ages, was to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the opening ceremonies of the 2026 Washougal National motocross event last week. The sextet is celebrating the notion that new passions don’t come with an expiration date. “In our society, we have certain biases about what should happen after people get to a certain age,” said group member Renny Christopher. “We’re saying, ‘No, not really.’ That’s the message that I feel we well encompass — it’s never too late.” The singers are students and friends of Camas resident Diana Larson, a voice coach and former professional singer who has recruited students to perform the national anthem at the Washougal Motocross opening ceremonies for the past several years. “I usually book soloists for the motocross,” Larson said, “so I just thought it would be really fun to put together a group of people that I get along really well with and give them the experience. … Singing is really good for people that are older, very much so. It gets the endorphins going.” Larson said she assembled Grateful Not Dead Yet to show that it’s never too late to learn something new, perform for an audience and find joy through music. For the singers, however, the performance is also an opportunity to bring people together through song. “With the negative political environment in this country, I think it’s an honor to sing the national anthem,” group member Jennifer Bohn said. “It’s a positive thing, and boy, do we need that right now.” The group members boast a wide range of professional backgrounds and performing experiences: Bohn, 65, of Battle Ground, is a lifelong musician who started piano at age 6, taught music for 45 years — including 25 in Washougal — and has performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Washougal motocross event. Christopher, a 69-year-old Vancouver resident and English professor at Washington State University Vancouver, first encountered Larson at the school’s campus, where Larson received a Woman of the Year award in 2018. Inspired by Larson’s presentation on her work with juvenile justice, Christopher later contacted her about taking voice lessons. Ridgefield resident Gina Nuorala, 63, fell in love with singing as a member of her high school choir, went on to front several Pacific Northwest-based rock bands and spent decades singing gospel in church. After reconnecting with Larson at WSU Vancouver, she returned to formal training. Battle Ground resident Robert Nicol, 79, once acted onstage in San Francisco with Robin Williams and David Ogden Stiers before pursuing a career in medicine. After retiring, Nicol returned to the performing arts by taking voice lessons from Larson, joking that for years even his shower “kicked (him) out.” Washougal resident Della Baisden, 67, was born deaf and fitted with hearing aids when she was 2. She spent her life in mainstream schools, working hard on her speech because she “didn’t want to be different.” The Jemtegaard Middle School special education paraeducator received a cochlear implant in 2019, opening up a world of new sounds, including music, and she performed at Portland Community Jam events until her partner died in December 2024. Recently, she decided she missed singing and turned to Larson, herself a former Jemtegaard paraeducator, for voice coaching. Rey Reynolds, 67, a former Vancouver Police Department officer, has a deep, resonant voice and has become a regular national anthem soloist at the Washougal motocross event, Larson said. The group — which also includes a relative youngster, 32-year-old Vancouver resident Kieandra Koch — has quickly become more than a collection of voice students. Larson said the members hope to continue performing together after the motocross event, with possibilities including the annual Christmas Festival of Lights at The Grotto in Portland. “It’s pretty amazing actually,” Nuorala said. “It’s a blessing. We do have different backgrounds, but we’re still just a community. … Even though we haven’t been together long, it feels like we’re buddies.” Nicol said that sense of connection is what makes the group special. “I just really appreciate the fact that they’re so incredibly talented and they’re nice folk,” he said. For many people, retirement is seen as a time to slow down. But for these six singers, it has become a chance to keep learning, keep performing and keep surprising themselves. “We are not disappearing,” Baisden said. “We’re still here.”

Related Stories