These prominent golden-agers talk about lifelong achievements, what they learned through the years, what they are planning on next and how living longer is a rewarding daily adventure.
Written by David Hodes
Interviewed by David M. Block, David Hodes and Pete Mundo
Shirley Helzberg
Birth date: September 29, 1941, Age: 83
“I do think there’s luck, but I think if you don’t put the effort into
it and the amount of work, I don’t think luck cuts it. I think whatever you accomplish takes hard work.”
It was 1967. A major marketing plan was about to be launched that would change the fortunes of a local retail jewelry company. Barnett Helzberg, Jr. was working at his grandfather’s jewelry store, which opened in Kansas City in 1915. His dad worked there, too, as the business flourished. But he died suddenly in 1963, and Barnett took over the business.
Barnett used the momentum his father began for this local, family-run business, growing the jewelry store to more than 200 stores across 23 states by the end of the century. It became the third largest jewelry chain by 2010.
Back in 1967, Barnett was dating a striking young woman, Shirley Bush, a farmer’s daughter fresh out of college who was working at broadcast and advertising agencies in Kansas City. Barnett proposed, and they got married. “It was a quick engagement,” Shirley Bush Helzberg says. “His mother closed the deal.”
The Greatest Marketing Invention
The love story goes that Barnett was so happy Shirley said yes that he made a lapel button with the words “I Am Loved” on it.
That slogan quickly became part of a national marketing platform that is still considered today as one of the greatest marketing inventions ever for the retail diamond industry. Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Joe Namath and President Lyndon B. Johnson all wore the button when it first came out, among other celebrities. It’s one of those rare iconic marketing phenomenons. And it almost didn’t happen.
“Barnett had visited me in California for a weekend at the time,” Shirley says. She was working at a radio station in Los Angeles. “Then, coming back to Kansas City on the airplane, he scribbled that phrase down and brought it into his office. Actually I think he wadded it up and threw it away.”
Barnett had second thoughts, retrieved the crumpled drawing and showed it to his father. His father said, “Well, if you’re going to do it, do it big.” Barnett was talking about doing an ‘I Am Loved’ pin right from the beginning. His father told him that he would probably bring in a bunch of hippies. “Those hippies will come in and want to get pins.”
The slogan was printed on a banner and flown over a Chiefs game with no explanation about it, just the words ‘I Am Loved.’ “And it just went wild,” Shirley says. “Truly. It went all over the world. Every language, every country.”
The City’s Philanthropists
As the Helzberg business thrived, Barnett and Shirley became one of Kansas City’s best-known and best-loved philanthropists, with Shirley leading the way. They created a successful business mentoring program in 1995 inspired by their 23-year mentoring relationship with Ewing Kauffman. They led the development of one of the two venues inside the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in 2011—the 1,600 seat Helzberg Hall, where the Kansas City Symphony performs—while Shirley worked as the board president of the Kansas City Symphony. And they got the Kansas City Zoo Aquarium built in 2023.
The Helzbergs are a well-known force of good for the city, with most of their community efforts fronted by Shirley. They support many other arts organizations in Kansas City, such as Starlight Theatre, the Shakespeare Festival and the Kansas City Ballet. Shirley is also a trustee of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Ongoing Developments
Shirley’s most recent involvement is in the 14th Street railroad bridge development—a new entertainment and event space being built on the old Rock Island Bridge alongside the city’s West Bottoms—designed to help grow riverfront business on the west part of town.
“This is going to be so incredible because there are so many industrial-type structures in this country that could be renovated,” says the engaging 83-year-old. “They’re just sitting there. This railroad is over 100 years old. It was built to ship cattle, so there’s a real connection there with the stockyards and the cattle. And it was built very sturdy.”
Shirley continues her philanthropic work at a steady pace even at her advanced age, fooling everyone who sees her. “People always say to me that I can’t be that old. I say, ‘Oh, thank you.’ They say I look 60.”
Shirley says she’s been involved in a lot of organizations that had challenges, but she found ways to address them. “It took time, and it took a lot of meetings, and it took a lot of listening with the individuals who were involved,” she says. “But we always overcame challenges and made each organization stronger.”
Work-Life Balance
Discovering her own work-life balance was something Shirley says she didn’t accomplish, admitting that she is a “24/7 workaholic,” even today. She recommends working as long as you can get out. “If you can’t get out today, you can work remotely,” she says. “I think it’s good for you mentally. If I do have something that I would probably do differently, it’s to not spend quite as much time in the community and more with family.”
Shirley’s children were involved in some things she did, but she feels as if she may have neglected some close friends and family over the years. “Barnett and I have lost many of our friends (due to death), and I regret that I didn’t spend more time with them. So I think I didn’t have a great work-life balance.”
Regardless, her joy and sheer love of living comes through whenever she speaks to anyone. “I was happiest probably the day before today,” she says. “I’ve always loved whatever period I am involved in, and nothing could have brought me more happiness than having my sons born. Just that experience of cradling a child. I think seeing babies—and life and the beauty of life—are my greatest joys.”
The Value of Listening
People need to find their focus early in life, she advises, and they can do that by simply talking to other people. “I believe very much in mentors and talking with people that have perhaps experienced a situation,” she says. “Or maybe they have had successes that weren’t successful in the long run and they’re able to share that. If we don’t listen in life, we can’t learn how to do anything, especially in the community.”
Shirley’s business philosophy comes from working with other leaders to do something of real value and finding out how to succeed from those she surrounds herself with. “Often I think about people who, because I was exposed to being around them and their type of leadership, that type of leadership gets ingrained in me,” she says. “One of the things that I feel about leadership is you should gather information and make determinations by consensus. I think so many people who have leadership roles, such as heads of big boards, want to have a vote.”
Often, when a subject without consensus is voted on, there are always winners and losers, she says. It doesn’t have to be that way. “Gathering consensus is a skill I attribute to Don Hall, who said to me at one point that he never in his community life had a vote. So I always try to get consensus. And in my mind I say thank you Don Hall.”
A Message
Shirley has a message for the younger crowd—30-, 40-, 50-year-old folks. “I think the most important thing is to really evaluate what you want to do,” she says. “Someone will ask you to participate in something. What I learned is don’t do it because your friend asks you to do it. Do it because you have researched it, you learned about it and it’s something you really enjoy and believe in. You want to really get involved in one or two things and really look at something where you can make a difference.”
“You want to really get involved in one or two things and really look at something where you can make a difference.”
“We always overcame challenges and made each organization stronger.”
