Mimi Bogdasarian

Mimi is a former tennis player and took up pickle ball last year. She finds it much easier on the shoulder because of the lighter weight racket. And, says Mimi, not as many overhead shots in pickle ball which makes it less a problem for a sore rotator cuff.

The most challenging part of the game for her is “being in the right position” on the court, and getting set to execute a shot. She noted that in tennis getting to the net is an important skill, and she says “that’s what pickle ball is all about.”

She and her husband Ronald, a recently retired otolaryngologist, have 2 children and 6 grandchildren, four of whom reside in Ann Arbor. On days Mimi is not at pickle ball she may very well be chauffeuring her grand kids.

Mimi was a bit hesitant to say she grew up in Columbus, Ohio and graduated from OSU. I assured her she was relatively safe here in the “Athens of the Midwest”, and that most of us are enlightened people. – but that wearing her blue and gold Michigan t-shirt was a good idea.

In her “other life” Mimi has been a dental hygienist, has a Master’s from EMU, and has worked in marketing, and in out-patient management at the University of Michigan Hospital.

In her early 50s Mimi decided it was time to reinvent herself – to lose weight, start working out, and get physically fit. She began with swimming, spinning, and working with weights. She soon began doing triathlons and has now done so many, she can’t give an accurate count. This involves swimming a half mile, biking 16 miles, and running a 5K race. She says anyone who wants to challenge themselves, but not kill themselves, should do a triathlon. And walk.

On her Bucket List is a trip to Norway, where her mother’s family lived. Mimi is now 72, but was slow to come up with the number – simply because she doesn’t think much about how old she is. She said she was born in 1944, that was certain. Together we were able to actually figure it out. These interviews always have unexpected challenges.

Thinking about a most admired person, Mimi described Barack Obama as being a wonderful person.

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