On another muggy day in the center of Newport, I met Peter Martin at his first-floor condo. It was quickly apparent that Peter had carefully prepared himself for this phase of his life. At eighty-four, Peter is surrounded by memories in the vicinity of his childhood neighborhood and his former school, La Salle. He smiled and continued, “Class of 59 is around the corner and up the street.” He clearly likes living life to the fullest as he showed me his cozy, thoughtfully designed home. Today. Right now.
Music plays a significant role in that life. A piano is tucked away in a room. Peter continues to train in this spacious area because there is always space for improvement.
I asked him whether he felt like he was winding down at this point in his life when we sat down.
Without hesitation, he said, “I’m winding up.” I’m in overtime if life is four quarters.
Like many older folks his age, Peter has outlived many people, but it hasn’t stopped him from moving forward. He smiled and said, “I walk two miles a day,” while looking at his step counter. I took three walks yesterday.
He was raised in Newport on Hammond Street. I consider myself fortunate to be back in my childhood neighborhood, the Fifth Ward. When I stroll along the street where I grew up, many of the people I knew have moved on, but the houses are still there. That gives me a lot of comfort.
Does he like to go on walks? He said, “I don’t love it, but it keeps me going.” It’s simple for friends and neighbors to drop by and say hello where I live.
For Peter, helping others and making them happy is nothing new. His life has been long and rich, including six years as a Rhode Island lawmaker, a career in real estate holdings, and time as the planning board secretary. Even now, Peter continues to share his abilities in a more intimate setting by playing the piano in the Newport Hospital lobby.
It saved my life two and a half years ago, therefore I play in the hospital where I was born,” he said. It means a lot to me to play there. It makes me thankful for my good health and life.
Although it wasn’t planned, his journey to play at Newport Hospital seemed predestined. Peter remembered, “I told a close friend that I wanted to play a real wood and wire piano.” At the Edward King House, he began with her encouragement. However, his attention was drawn to the grand piano in the hospital foyer. After stopping by, he quickly found himself volunteering.
I was instructed to play while the head of the hospital volunteers left. He smiled and continued, “I played for an hour and she never came back.” She was actually listening.
Families, patients, and onlookers were also affected. As music frequently does, it brought solace and brief moments of happiness as it moved through the hospital’s lobby. I was immediately hired.
Peter has a subtle talent for breakthroughs, sometimes using music and other times something far more significant. It might be one of the ways he infuses his life and the lives of those he interacts with with a rhythm of harmony.
Peter showed me a picture of himself in the State House during our talk. One of his happiest memories was the successful campaign to have John Gordon, the last man hanged in Rhode Island in 1845 and long thought to be innocent, pardoned after his death. When I was eight years old, my dad informed me about him, Peter said. He was inspired to act after seeing a play about Gordon’s life years later. In 2011, Governor Chafee granted an official pardon after he submitted a resolution. Peter thought that helping to put things right, even when they were long overdue, meant a lot to him.
Peter has always been driven by the desire to put things right. These days, he does just that for people who hear it by performing music at the hospital and keeping getting better.
Peter was accepted as a volunteer at Newport Hospital seven years ago. What began as a weekly gig evolved into something more. With a little lunch break, he now performs every weekday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., a routine that gives him happiness and meaning.
Peter still brings eight books of music to the hospital, and inside are the same pieces of sheet music he’s had since he was a youngster. Every session begins with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” He plays it as his first song of the day. “I get compliments all the time for playing,” he remarked. He thinks it’s because the music temporarily makes people forget their purpose or the difficulties they’re facing. It’s among the most fulfilling aspects. It brings them some tranquility. It’s all worthwhile because of it.
On a typical day, Peter finds satisfaction in the sheer act of being alive. Living, really living.
He hesitated when asked what he wanted to be known for. People in my high school graduating class praised me as the class excellent man. That’s how I want to be remembered.
Without a question. Generations to come will carry on Peter’s modest legacy as a good man, both in deeds and words. And that’s a silent method to put things right on its own.
Age Ambassador was founded by aging advisor Helen Hames. She feels that older folks and their families should receive reliable counsel through the complicated web of decisions that come with aging, just as people turn to financial or legal advisors. She assists people in identifying what is most important and moving forward with confidence, whether they are planning to age in place or move into a community. Helen’s advocacy and individualized support of senior citizens earned her the title of 2025 Senior Champion of the Year.
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