He retired to Tucson, Arizona in 1961 and spent his time on his hobbies. He had an extensive garden of cactus and other plants of his adopted Sonoran Desert region. He traveled the world, both on cruise ships with his wife, and on hiking expeditions. At one time he was the oldest man on record to have climbed Mount Rainier, and likewise Point Lenana on Mount Kenya. He died at his home in 1997, at the age of 100.