Clovis senior in the Spotlight: Nella Audas

My name is Nella Audas. I am working at the Clovis Senior Center as a nutrition coordinator. I was born in Dos Palos on July 6, 1956, so that means that I am a senior now!

I am the fourth of five children. My dad’s name was Roy Audas and my mother’s name is Ollie Audas Smith. My dad was born in Texas and worked as a meat cutter until about a year before he died at 49 years old. My mother was born in Oklahoma. She retired and is active at the Clovis Senior Center. I was blessed with a step dad named Wally Smith who lived to be 89. My sister Beryl and my brother Rod both live in Fresno and my brother Tom lives in Mariposa. My youngest brother Nathan passed away six years ago.

I graduated from Clovis High School. I was 29th in a class of 532. Our class was the first to graduate in the new Darryl Lamonica Stadium. We were the first class to spell out our class year in our seating arrangement and The Fresno Bee ran a photo of it – above the fold even! We sure thought we were special. After high school, I attended Fresno City College and earned my AA degree.

Growing up, we moved around a lot. I went to several schools and made friends at every new place. I remember one time we were playing kickball in the front yard and my mother came out and played with us. Mostly it was the five of us kids playing together outside with each other and our cousins.

I live with my cousin Bonnie and we love to go to the coast where the air is cooler and the food is good. We have been on several cruises and are going on one soon to Mexico. We went to Hawaii and cruised the islands a few years ago and would like to go back and take the time to visit Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Gardens. I hope that someday soon we can go on an Alaskan cruise.

Years ago we “adopted” a gal who needed a family and she has given us three wonderful grandchildren. Connor is 14, Riley is 11 and Harrison is 3. They bring my heart joy just being able to be a part of their lives and I will forever be thankful to their mother Angela for them. Connor goes to Hoover High School and Riley goes to Manchester G.A.T.E. Elementary School. We are waiting to see what Harrison will grow up to be like.

I like to work with arts and crafts projects. I volunteer my time to teach craft classes to seniors when time allows. I like spending my time with seniors doing the crafts or just visiting with them. I have volunteered for many years with FMAAA ranging from making phone calls to homebound seniors, to delivering meals to just about anything else that needs to be done. I am a board member with the AARP Local Chapter 217 in Clovis. Senior Day at the Fresno Fair is Oct. 10 and I will be there volunteering at the City of Fresno Senior Nutrition booth.

I also enjoy reading. Mysteries are my favorite but I also like the supernatural stories.

I have worked at many different places, but I have mostly worked in the financial areas. I worked for 10 years for County of Fresno in the Treasurer’s division and financial office of Public Works. I have also worked for the Census Bureau for the last two times it was taken. There are some good stories about trying to get people to tell you census information!

I am here at the Clovis Senior Activity Center helping out with the nutrition program until a permanent replacement is found for the position. I am currently working with the Homebound Meal program and the congregate meals. It is a blessing to be able to work with such a great group of employees and senior volunteers that make the job easy to do. I also work for the IRS and that makes me a busy girl who looks forward to the weekend.

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 8:40 AM with the headline "Clovis senior in the Spotlight: Nella Audas."