In the know.

If you happened to find yourself visiting the elders who live at The Crossings in League City, you might not realize that a dietary aide you pass in the hallway is also a true to life celebrity with a story that could easily be a Disney movie.

If the folks at Disney ever did decide to make a movie about Yolanda Fagan, it would have to be called The Boxing Granny and it would begin in a far-off land called New Jersey.

“For anyone who hasn’t been to where I come from in Jersey, it can be a tough place to raise your kids,” said Fagan. “So, in the interest of giving them a better life, I packed us up and we moved to North Carolina.”

It was there in those rolling Carolina hills that Fagan found herself with a new problem. “My kids were great students and really wanted to pursue higher education,” she said. “That wasn’t something I could afford until someone suggested I try boxing to make some money.”

It wasn’t long before Fagan took her shot and began to rise through the ranks as a female boxer, first in North Carolina and eventually worldwide. She was, at one time, the only female boxer at her gym, meaning she spent plenty of time sparring with men. It paid off.

“If you’d told me I’d be boxing in Greece or Las Vegas or wherever, I’d have said you were crazy,” she laughed. “But that’s just what happened.”

Nicknamed “Baby Tank” she compiled a record of 15 wins and 2 losses (including EIGHT first round knockouts!) during a career that began when she was much older than most boxers are when they start out.

“I was a late bloomer, but I didn’t let that stop me,” she smiled. “That’s why they called me the boxing granny!” A real-life grandmother as well, Fagan now has TWENTY-ONE grandchildren!

Fagan has also been a late bloomer in her “second career” of senior living. “I’ve worked lots of jobs in my life and nothing has been more rewarding than this,” she said of her career at The Crossings as a dietary aide. “I love my residents. It’s hard to explain. I had a great career in the ring and all kinds of benefits came from it, including financial, but nothing hits you quite like making an elder smile. That’s what it’s all about here.”

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