VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 6 • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012

Helen Schweller finds fun in fashion. Page 5

Couple finds love in a time of war. Page 2

The Rev. Robert Frey loves helping people.That’s why Frey, 96, rises bright and early every morning to

deliver newspapers to his fellow residents at Chapel Hill in Canal Fulton, Ohio.

“I find that volunteering gives order and discipline to my life while hopefully providing some useful service to someone

Resident Pursues A Life of Service 

C ELEB RAT I N G T H E S P I RI T

With the har-vest season and holidays approaching, many of us are beginning to reflect on the bounty and blessings we have received this year.

At United Church Homes, we owe a debt of gratitude to our leaders who have served as executives and board members, building an organization that provides excellent senior living and health care to 4,000 people across the country. The vision and commitment of leaders past and present, the devotion of our current team members and the continued generosity of our donors enable our commu-nities to develop and thrive.

While we acknowledge the contributions made by our

Paying It Forward

A Bimonthly Publication of United Church Homes

Continued on page 7Continued on back page

A Word from the CEO

As a resident of Chapel Hill Community, the Rev. Robert Frey is quick to lend a helping hand.

Volunteer reaches out through music.Page 4

U N I T E D C H U R C H H O M E S2

Some say there’s no such thing as love at first sight. Paul and Carol Buck might disagree.

Paul, 92, and Carol, 90, met on a blind date more than 70 years ago in Jackson,

Ohio. Two days before Paul was to leave for training in the Army’s 132nd Field Artillery Battalion, a mutual friend introduced them. They met at a local hamburger joint, a popular teenage hangout; neither was expecting much.

Until they saw each other.Paul and Carol’s attrac-

tion was instantaneous — and mutual. The two enjoyed lots of laughs and hit it off right away. The next night they went to a football game.

They agreed to write each other every day while he was away — and they did. Hundreds of letters passed between them as the attack on Pearl Harbor pressed Paul into active duty. Though they didn’t save their letters, Carol says she didn’t have to. “I remember every single thing,” she says. “I loved him right away.”

One letter in particular stands out in her memory. In it was a long declaration of Paul’s love for her — and a wedding proposal. “There was a tiny little engagement ring,” Carol recalls. “And he asked me to marry him. Of course I said, ‘Yes!’ I wasn’t surprised because we were crazy about each other. I still wear that same ring. I’ve had it all these years.”

Love Survives War and TimeWhen Paul returned on leave in 1943 they were

married in a ceremony at the courthouse, only days after his return. “I was at my mother’s house and the phone rang. A man said, ‘This is Paul,’ and I said, ‘Paul who?’” laughs Carol. “I hadn’t heard his voice in over two years and we had only had two dates. We had courted by letter.”

They wanted to get married right away, but Ohio required a blood test before a marriage license could be obtained. Their results weren’t back yet, so Carol’s mother asked the postmaster to open the post office so

they could see if the results had arrived. They had.

“Then we rushed up the street to the courthouse and got married. It was all very fast,” Carol says.

Paul spent several more years in the Army, even serving at the Battle of the Bulge. He was serv-ing in France when the war ended.

After World War II, the couple settled down and started a family that now includes three children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Paul now lives at Four Winds Community in Jackson. He and Carol can no longer see each other every day, but absence has never failed to make their hearts grow fonder.

“Carol visits at least once a week, sometimes more, and they hold hands from the time she gets here until the time she leaves. It’s very touching,” says Sandy Borden, community outreach coordinator at Four Winds. “It’s a love story for the ages.”

Paul and Carol Buck share a romance that has lasted decades.

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During her 19 years on the job, Rosie Hughey has set a high standard as prop-erty manager at Fox Hollow: perfection.

“My job is to make sure everything is running smoothly, not just with the physical community and grounds, but for our residents as well,” Hughey says of her work at the affordable housing community in Covington, Tenn. “I want everything to be perfect, so I wear many hats.”

Her commitment is rooted in United Church Homes’ vi-sion — to provide an environment of respect for residents in which their lives are enriched.

That commitment to excellence recently earned Fox Hollow a prestigious Community of Quality Award from the Southeastern Affordable Housing Management Asso-ciation (SAHMA). The award was presented in April during SAHMA’s 30th annual regional conference in Mobile, Ala.

According to SAHMA, the award “recognizes the achievements of affordable housing providers that have made valuable contributions to the affordable housing industry by developing and managing outstanding proper-ties that are vibrant places to live.”

A number of stringent criteria are used to determine the award winners, including a recommendation from the Tennessee Housing Development Association (THDA) and an exemplary score from the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC), a department of HUD that evaluates and scores affordable housing communities based on factors such as fiscal management, physical state of the property and other findings.

“It’s a very difficult award to receive,” says Hughey. “The award further distinguishes us from other affordable hous-ing communities in the area and confirms that we really are a community of quality. Local residents refer to us as ‘Paradise in Covington,’ and now everyone knows what we already know.”

Fox Hollow is a 39-apartment, garden-style community for adults age 62 and older or persons physically handi-capped or mobility impaired. The beauty of the community, its safety and the availability of activities help ensure a very high retention rate.

“Once people move here, they don’t move out until they require a higher level of care,” says Hughey. “People really want to live here.”

In addition to its physical attractiveness, the community of-fers something that is important to residents: a sense of family.

“I’m close to all our residents,” Hughey says. “I want everyone to know they are special and valued and that we really care.”

Activities such as the annual Thanksgiving and Christmas banquets — when the community center is transformed into a formal restaurant — help Hughey foster a deep sense of camaraderie and fellowship.

And as the community continues to make improvements to the grounds, including a planned expansion of the com-munity center and the hiring of a service coordinator, Fox Hollow will be able to increase the number of such activities.

“I want residents to feel like this is their home,” says Hughey, “because that’s exactly what it is.”

Fox Hollow Earns Accolades for High Standards

Fox Hollow team members and residents celebrate the community’s commitment to excellence.

U N I T E D C H U R C H H O M E S4

Thia Roszman’s grand-parents passed away in the summer of 2010. They were like a second set of parents to Roszman, and she was still mourning the loss when a neighbor, Nancy Hafer, came up with an idea.

“She wanted to start a handbell choir at Fairhaven Community, where both my grandparents had lived before their passing. I told her if she ever got around to actually doing it, to count me in,” Roszman recalls. “I missed being around my grandparents, and I missed being around seniors.”

The following spring, Ha-fer began holding practices at the community in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Roszman participated, even though she had no musical experi-ence. Roszman expected to pass out bells and help wherever needed. But Hafer’s work schedule made it difficult for her to attend practices, and the choir was in danger of disbanding.

That left Roszman in a quandary.

“I really didn’t know much about music, but we were

Volunteer’s Efforts Make Sweet Musicenjoying it so much,” she says. “At first I said, ‘No.’ I’m a natural wallflower. But the residents and staff just kept saying, ‘You can do it Thia,’ and so I started directing.”

It was difficult at first, but Roszman soon got used to being out front, directing Fairhaven Commmunity’s first-ever handbell choir. Now, the choir is a favorite of residents and community members alike. Practices are held once a week, and the ringers perform for free wherever they are invited.

“There is nothing in the world like the looks on their faces when they get up there

to play,” Roszman says. “I do it for them, and we’ve really become like family.”

The choir has about 30 members, including two who are blind. Spotters tap them to signal when to ring their bells. And, thanks to

Thia Roszman spreads joy through a favorite Fairhaven Community pastime: the handbell choir.

generous contributions from donors, the choir’s repertoire has expanded.

“We had been limited in what we could play,” says

Roszman. “Because we couldn’t afford to buy new songs, we had to keep play-ing the same ones over and over. Now, we purchased new songs and new bells, and the residents love it even more.”

And Roszman, the former wallflower, even performs occasionally. She says her favorite memory is the first time the choir played before an audience.

“It was a Christmas production,” she says. “We played in the chapel, and all the residents’ friends and family members were invited. I think we were all in tears when it was over.

“But there are many moments where I sit back and say, ‘Aha, this is what it’s all about.’ They’re just so awesome.”

“I do it for them, and we’ve really become like family.”

— Thia Roszman, volunteer at Fairhaven Community

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Times were hard for Helen Schweller’s parents even before the Great Depres-sion began sweeping across the country in 1929.

They were tobacco farmers and had five children over a six-year span. With mouths to feed and basic bills to pay, there was no money for store-bought clothes. So Schweller and her siblings wore homemade outfits and hand-me-downs.

With just two feed-sack dresses to her name at one point, Schweller vowed to wear finer things when she grew up.

She kept that promise.These days Schweller is

one of the best-dressed women living at Trinity Community of Beaver-creek, a senior living community near Dayton, Ohio.

“I love to dress up,” she says. “I get up first thing in the morning and take my shower. Then I pick out my clothes and get dressed for the day.”

Schweller, 89, never leaves her apartment without wearing an ensemble that includes a favorite outfit and accessories, with matching shoes and purse. She also usually wears a hat.

“A lady never leaves the house without a hat,” she laughs. And with more than 35 hats in her collection, Schweller says she is prepared for nearly every occasion.

Resident Leads Way To Fashionable Life

Her love of fashion may have started in child-hood, but it really took off when she entered the work force. High marks at Sinclair Business College led to a job as a typist at Wright-Patter-son Air Force Base near Dayton, about 80 miles from her hometown of Georgetown.

“I’d never been to Dayton,” she recalls. “But my parents put me on a bus with a little cardboard suitcase and off I went. I must have been quite a sight! When I went to work it was always important to me to look my best, so I bought nice clothes with my paychecks.”

In 1941, Schweller began shopping at Elder-Beerman, a department store in downtown Dayton, where she

remains a loyal customer.“I go in, and they all know

me,” she says. “I love their clothes, and I love it more when I find a good deal.”

“She goes shopping with her friends and has lunch two days a week,” says Crystal Swayne, Trinity activities director. “She’s definitely one of our more colorful residents, and everyone knows her.”

Schweller’s clothes are colorful, but it’s her personality that really shines. She takes flowers or ice cream to residents in assisted living every day, and she never misses her weekly hair appointment at the Trinity beauty shop.

She also loves giving fashion tips to anyone who asks. Soon, Schweller will begin writing a column for Senior Correspondent an Internet and community-based plat-form, sharing information about her life and, of course, offering advice on fashion.

“I never miss an opportunity to look my best,” she says. “After all these years, I still love to look good!”

Helen Schweller takes pride in being one of the best-dressed women around the Trinity campus.

U N I T E D C H U R C H H O M E S6

Donor Sows the Seeds of Givingadvancement. Upon the donor’s death, remain-ing funds from the charitable gift annuity pass on to the commu-nity for use in funding benevolent care, capital projects or other chari-table activities.

Shafer liked the concept of protect-ing her financial future with guaranteed payments while helping others. After 43 years of marriage, her first husband, William, died of a heart attack. Shafer moved to Parkvue in the 1990s with her second husband, Donald, who was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Parkvue’s continuum of care gave Shafer the option of living with her husband even as he needed more assistance. After he died in 2001, Shafer moved away, but recalled the compassionate care she and her late husband received at Parkvue and returned this year to make Parkvue her permanent home.

“I have been blessed both times that I lived at Parkvue,” Shafer says.

Passing on that blessing and knowing those funds are used to help others enriches her life in ways that go beyond dollars and cents, she adds.

“An investment at Parkvue will bring the memory of my late first husband, William C. Shafer, alive for generations of residents at Parkvue,” she says. “Who could ask for a more wonderful tribute?”

Audrey Shafer knew that an investment in a United Church Homes chari-table gift annuity to benefit Parkvue Community would be a sensible financial decision because of the guar-

anteed rate of return. But it was also a deeply emotional choice for the resident of the Sandusky, Ohio, campus.

“Just as a seed started my life, knowing that every-thing I have comes from God, I’ll plant another seed at Parkvue and watch it grow,” Shafer says. “It will enrich my life now and the lives of others now and in the future.”

Shafer, 82, transferred a lump sum of money to United Church Homes and will now receive a monthly check from that annuity for the remainder of her life. She feels secure knowing that the check will arrive on a regular basis and is pleased with the tax savings.

Charitable gift annuities are just one of several planned giving options available to donors who want to support United Church Homes’ mission. “Chari-table gift annuities are an excellent way for residents who have benefited from our communities to help ensure that future residents have the same exception-al experiences,” says Vincent Dent, vice president of

A charitable gift annuity is a simple way to invest funds that benefit you now and in the future. Transfer cash or property to United Church Homes and receive fixed pay-ments from the annuity for life. You will receive a partial tax deduction and may also save capital gains tax. When the gift annuity ends, the remaining principal is passed to United Church Homes to support the organization’s benevolent care and other charitable activities.

For information on establish-ing a charitable gift annuity, contact Vincent Dent, vice president of advancement, at vdent@uchinc.org or (740) 223-2027.

Make a Difference

Audrey Shafer enriches the lives of other residents through a charitable gift annuity.

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else,” says Frey, a retired United Church of Christ minister who is also a member of Chapel Hill’s resident council. “I enjoy the intellectual stimulation of interacting with others here and doing what I can for others.”

Wherever his fellow residents are, Frey can be found as well. Whether it’s helping to clean up after a social event, playing clarinet in the 65-member Clinton-Canal Fulton band or serving on the residents’ council, Frey loves to pitch in.

For Frey, it’s a way of life.

Frey and his late wife, Elizabeth, moved to the community in April 2002 so she could receive care for Alzheimer’s disease and they could be close to their son and his family. After her passing in 2005, Frey remained at Chapel Hill where he continues a ministry that began as a high school student.

Like many children growing up in Ohio in the ‘30s, Frey attended Sunday school. His father, a black-

smith, and his homemaker mother were members of the First Reformed Church in Tiffin, where he was first exposed to the tenets of his Christian faith.

But it wasn’t until his senior year of high school that the real meaning of his faith became clear.

“We were reading through the Gospel of Mark,” Frey recalls, “and I was struck with Jesus’ instructions to ‘love God and love your neigh-bor,’ and his practical demonstrations of that love toward all kinds of people.”

Frey went on to enroll in college and study engi-neering, but he couldn’t shake the impact of those Bible lessons. By his junior year, Frey had changed course and was preparing to enter seminary.

When he graduated, World War II was in full swing. A pacifist, Frey initially had no inter-est in serving. Eventually, however, a desire to help with the war efforts led him to apply for service

as a military chaplain. At that time, chaplaincy required at least two years of pastoral experience, so he accepted a posi-tion with a small church in Champaign County, Ill. Frey went on to serve as an army chaplain from 1943 until the war ended in 1945. After returning home, Frey held positions with two United Church of Christ congregations in Ohio. He then found-ed a new church in St. Petersburg, Fla. Through his congregations, Frey became familiar with the work and mission of United Church Homes. In 1974, Frey was elected to the United Church Homes’ board of trust-ees and in 1976 he joined

Altenheim retirement community in Indiana as an administrator.

He retired in 1981, but rather than slowing down he found more opportuni-ties to serve.

“In fact, it was in retire-ment that my volunteer service really began,” he says. “I became involved with Habitat for Human-ity, I volunteered at hospitals in St. Peters-burg and Ohio and I was involved in many other activities, including work with United Church Homes.”

Frey says he’s discov-ered that serving not only blesses others, but for some eight decades has brought a special fulfill-ment to his life.

Resident Pursues A Life of Service … continued from cover

“I never expected that growing older would be so much fun,” says Frey.

U N I T E D C H U R C H H O M E S8

170 E. Center Street / PO Box 1806 • Marion, Ohio 43301-1806 • 740-382-4885 / 800-837-2211

unitedchurchhomes.org • Fax: 740-382-4884 • TTY: 800-750-0750

Our mission is to provide, primarily to older adults, housing, health care, and other services which are responsive to the needs of the whole person and based on Christian values.NATIONAL AND STATE AFFILIATIONS:

American Health Care Association: ahca.org

Council for Health and Human Service Ministries (CHHSM): chhsm.org

LeadingAge: leadingage.org

LeadingAge Ohio: leadingageohio.org

Midwest Affordable Housing Management Association (MAHMA): mahma.com

Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging: ohioaging.org

Ohio Healthcare Association: ohca.org

Southeastern Affordable Housing Management Association (SAHMA): sahma.org

A Word from the CEO ... continued from cover

Celebrating the Spirit at unitedchurchhomes.org

predecessors, our debt of gratitude is more appropriately settled by paying those good works forward. We strive to do that every day as we serve residents and their families, creating thoughtful, individual and memorable experiences.

When I visit our communities, I see the dedication that team members display toward our residents and how the work we do has a positive impact. Recently, I received a note from a resident named Bob Frey, former director of Altenheim, a retirement community in Indiana. Bob had just marked his 10th anniversary of living in the Chapel Hill Retirement Community and wrote to thank Susan Strutner, Chapel Hill’s administrator, for bringing meaning, purpose and enjoyment to his life. At the age of 96, Bob states that he dares to hope for even more fulfillment.

This sense of gratitude permeates all areas of our communities. At Fairhaven Community, for example, the resident volunteer group demonstrates their gratitude through service projects,

most recently by making baby blankets for children in the local hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

The spirit that Bob encountered at Chapel Hill, the one exhibited at Fairhaven, and in all of our communities, reflects the desire to pass on the blessings that come our way. That spirit is a gift from the heart that cannot be manufactured.

We must continue to look for opportunities to pay gratitude forward. It may be as simple as sincerely asking a resident about his day or providing encour-agement to a team member about a talent she has displayed. Or it may be more complex, requiring a larger investment of

finances or time, such as making a donation or serving as a volunteer.

United Church Homes is the kind of organization that recognizes and nurtures this spirit because we appreciate the importance of sharing our bounty. And for that, I am grateful.

— The Rev. Kenneth V. Daniel

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