Retirement, Hammer In Hand

Two Volunteers Dedicate Their Retirement Years To Helping Others

(CBS)  George and Diane Gravlee are not professional do-it-yourselfers. He was an engineer and she was a school librarian during their working years.

But a few years back, the Gravlees sold their home, moved into an RV, and dedicated their retirement years to volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

And, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, there is enough work to keep them busy practically around the clock.

Many Gulf Coast residents are still not home more than five months after the hurricane and, in some towns, whole neighborhoods remain in ruins. Rebuilding those homes takes a special dedication so The Early Show profiled the Gravlees as two American heroes who put their lives on hold to help others.

"If you asked me 10 years ago if I'd be building houses, I'd tell you you were insane," said Diane Gravlee. But at a construction site in Slidell, La., there she was, swinging a hammer, as usual.

"This is our 85th project we've stopped for," she said. "And we've worked on, I don't know, over 120 houses."

It was the second time the Gravlees were at this job site. Just last year, they finished building a Habitat home for Sabrina Ducre and her three kids. The home was raised off the ground and was inland from Lake Ponchetrain. But the floodwaters swallowed up the Ducre home, leaving behind a soggy mess.

"I felt very safe. If it wasn't for watching TV during the night, I'd have stayed here," said Ducre.

With few contractors and bureaucratic delays, Ducre felt alone. But she was not forgotten.

"We just felt we needed to come back and help these folks," said George Gravlee. And that's what they did, returning to rebuild the Ducre home and five other houses in the neighborhood.

So widespread was the damage in Slidell and so overwhelming the loss, that many homeowners left and never returned. Diane Gravlee visited one house where the table was still neatly set for a meal, as if the family evacuated just moments before sitting down to eat.

"It's somebody's life that's been stopped in midstream. I think that's what hits me," Gravlee said. "It's a life, to me, that's just been put on hold. And how do they get that back together? I don't know."

"Think about the number of houses that were lost in this storm," mused George Gravlee. "I can't put my hands around that. But you know, to say, 'Here's five houses on Washington, we can fix those. We can bring that part of a neighborhood back.'

"You feel good. I mean, you know, you look back and hope you made a difference with the family."

And for many families, the Gravlees are making a difference in the form of one of the basic human needs, shelter.

"This is their retirement," said Sharon Randazzo, a resident helped by the Gravlees. "They have other things to do, but they choose to come here … and sacrifice for us, to come and help us, and it's greatly appreciated."

The Gravlees say they wouldn't live their retirement years any other way.

"There's nothing wrong with playing golf and playing bridge and doing all those things," said Diane. "I just don't see any fulfillment out of that."