Choices Fall 2017

The Glenridge on Palmer Ranch®

Fall 2017

Live Fulfilled!

7333 Scotland Way Sarasota, FL 34238 941-552-5369 or 888-999-GLEN (4536) www.TheGlenridge.com A Not-For-Profit Community governed by a Sarasota Board of Directors

Choices

Inside 2 Expand Your World 4 The Glenridge Experience: Customized from the Inside Out

Positively Different …

Living up to its legacy as the nation’s first Life Fulfilling Community®, The Glenridge on Palmer Ranch is truly one of a kind. Here, you’ll find opportunities you won’t find elsewhere – in an environment where originality, creativity and imagination soar.

A Friendly, Social Atmosphere

After 35 years in the financial world, much of it spent poring over numbers, Sue Button was accustomed to solitude.

While she enjoyed the company of others, she was fine being alone. Then, this past spring, she moved to The Glenridge.

And before she knew it, things changed: Sue found herself serving on two volunteer committees, joining The Glenridge Singers, volunteering at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and making friends with her new neighbors. “The people here are so friendly,” she says. “I always thought I was shy and that being alone was a lifestyle for me. But I like the social atmosphere at The Glenridge so much more. I’m impressed by the intellectual level of conversation, too. The members here are intelligent and accomplished.”

Sue, who has an MBA in finance from Boston College and worked in the insurance and banking industries, says The Glenridge has the perfect location from a safety and maintenance point of view. “I’m glad that it’s not on the water,” she says. “I also like the high ceilings, commons areas and modern living spaces.”

After retiring to Bradenton 15 years ago, Sue decided it was time to move to The Glenridge because, she says, “I was ready to have some real fun and leave the burdens of home ownership behind. Now, if something breaks, it’s not my worry.”

Even more important, Sue encourages others interested in a seniorliving community to shop around and compare, but New member Sue Button is making not to wait for a health friends, having fun and getting involved. issue to influence your considerations. “Make a decision,” she advises, “before you are forced to make a decision.”

Unique to The Glenridge, a soaring, 1,500-gallon aquarium, flanked by a spiral staircase, greets members and guests.

Live Longer, Happier

and steaks among Jack’s specialties.

The couple enjoys traveling, too, with recent trips to Alaska, the Mediterranean and Ireland.

Jack’s advice to those considering a community like The Glenridge: “People wait too long,” he says. “Decide what kind of lifestyle you want to live for the rest of your life – and don’t dawdle!”

Back in his hometown of Valparaiso, Indiana, Jack Allen served on the board of a continuing care community. The onetime judge, attorney and businessman saw that the people who lived there were satisfied and fulfilled. “I watched them live longer and be happier,” he observes. “It was a good experience.”

So that’s what Jack and his wife Jody looked for when they decided it was time for a lifestyle change – and they found The Glenridge to be a perfect fit. “We first learned about it while vacationing at Longboat Key – and we moved here in 2014,” Jack recalls. “It’s been a wonderful experience.”

At their Club Home, Jody – a former teacher and homemaker – enjoys birdwatching and working in the garden, while Jack often plays golf at a nearby course.

Grilling out on the patio is a Jack and Jody Allen decided it was time for a lifestyle favorite pastime, with brats change and chose The Glenridge.

Don’t Wait a Moment Longer to Experience Life at The Glenridge. We’re Almost 100% Full!

Expand Your World …

Work out. Learn. Volunteer. Create. Flourish! At The Glenridge, you can do i stimulating atmosphere that validates individuality, fosters exploration and m Always an Adventure

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t is not unusual for Bill and Penny Kobernusz to hop on their bikes and ride for 10 or even 15 miles, either on the cycle path at The Glenridge or on the nearby Legacy Trail. “We go wherever we like,” Penny adds.

“We just start off and say, ‘Do you want to go left or right?’ It’s always an adventure.”

Even when they’re not cycling, the Kobernuszes are finding ways to stay fit: Penny at a Zumba or aerobics class and Bill spinning on a stationary bike at The Glenridge Fitness Center.

The couple enjoys all that The Glenridge has to offer, especially the security of knowing they can head off for a cruise or a family vacation and not worry about cutting the grass. “We can turn the key and go,” Penny says. “We don’t even have to think about maintenance. Everything is taken care of.”

Penny, a retired nurse, and Bill, a former executive, also participate in Academy classes at The Glenridge. She is taking a basic law course, while he has attended sessions on using an iPad and iPhone. “We have a vibrant social life here – every night we have dinner with a different couple,” adds Penny.

“Without a doubt, this is the friendliest place we’ve ever lived.”

Life Didn’t Change; It Just Got Easier

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self-described “techie” who automated 240 school libraries for the Department of Defense over the course of 23 years, Sharyn Van Epps was used to pulling up stakes. In fact, she and her late husband moved no less than 16 times – living in Italy, Spain and Germany. “You get used to it,” says the veteran traveler.

Bill and Penny Kobernusz enjoy fitness-focused, maintenance-free living at The Glenridge.

So it’s no surprise that Sharyn, who came to Sarasota 4 years ago, took her move to The Glenridge very much in stride. “There was really no adjustment period,” she says.

“I still have my old friends, but I’ve made new ones. My life hasn’t changed; it just got better.

I live as independently as I always have.”

Also influencing Sharyn’s decision (and easing the transition) was her choice of residence. Her freestanding Club Home delivered a number of perks, like an open-plan interior with high ceilings and natural light to showcase her collection of wildlife paintings by modernist Charley Harper; hardwood floors to accentuate the area rugs she acquired during her travels; a big back yard with plenty of room for her two long-haired dachshunds and enough space for a garden; and a large kitchen, where she

At her Glenridge Club Home, Sharyn Van Epps enjoys her large kitchen, spacious interior, backyard garden and tree-lined streets, where she walks her dogs.

enjoys one of her favorite pastimes: cooking.

“I love being able to walk right outside my back door, pick fresh herbs and use them in a favorite recipe like sautéed shrimp with butter, rosemary, thyme and lemon,” she says.

Another reason Sharyn chose The Glenridge: no worries about upkeep. “Instead of the expense of maintaining a home, repairing the yard, pool, roof, and so on, I thought I’d rather put that money toward having fun in my retirement,” she says. “So that’s what I’ve done – and life is easy. Every morning I wake up and I’m glad I’m here.”

Honoring the Past, Planning for the Future

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reativity runs in Jan DeRiseis’ family – and you can see it the minute you walk in her door. Her Glenridge apartment is a virtual art gallery – not only showcasing her own landscapes and still lifes, but also featuring original paintings by her great grandfather, Samuel DeWitt Greaves, a renowned 19th-century artist famous for his portraits of Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Jan’s husband, Carl, has painstakingly tracked down and catalogued nearly 150 of Greaves’ portraits and also has created a family tree comprising 6,200 names, many with accompanying photos. “We’ve traced everything back,” he says.

Originally from Pennsylvania, the DeRiseises retired to Marco Island in 1994. When they began to plan ahead

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it all (and then some) in a makes life … simply better.

In their custom-designed apartment, below, Tom and Jane Rattigan display souvenirs of their many travels. Turkey and Greece were among their favorite stops because of their archeological significance.

for healthcare needs, Carl discovered The Glenridge during a Google search. Jan, who still paints when she’s not playing tennis or golf, was immediately on board. “I had to push my parents to move into a community that offered long-term care,” Jan notes.

“I didn’t want my kids to have to do that.

We wanted to make our own decisions for the future.”

Adds Carl: “We toured the campus and fell in love. The Glenridge is an amazing place. We knew immediately that it was for us.”

Still On the Go

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fter traveling the world and moving 24 times during their marriage, Tom and Jane Rattigan recently settled down at The Glenridge. But, they’re still on the go.

“We’re free from the pressures of maintaining a home,” says Tom, a retired executive who once worked for renowned business magnate Carl Icahn. “Now when we leave, we just close the door and we’re on our way without worry.”

In addition to being globetrotters, the couple, who met in high school, have been avid snow skiers and golfers. “You name it, we’ve done it,” Tom says.

The Rattigans, who had previously lived on Longboat Key, had been considering The Glenridge for about six years – but the decision to move last spring was also prompted by health issues. “It’s really a comfort to know that we have outstanding healthcare options right here on campus,” says Tom.

The fact that Sarasota is a cultural mecca – and that The Glenridge is full of creative, artistic people – attracted Carl and Jan DeRiseis.

Learning, Volunteering, Hamming It Up

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former college professor and administrator at the University of Akron in Ohio, Mary Rainey once taught a course in gerontology.

“I wanted to see what was ahead,” she says wryly.

So far, she really likes what she sees at The Glenridge. “I’m leading a full life,” she says, in what may be the understatement of the year.

A longtime Red Cross volunteer, Mary has traveled to 26 locations nationally, helping people recover from disasters. In addition to joining nearly a dozen committees at The Glenridge, Volunteer extraordinaire, Mary Rainey got her she also serves the homebound as ham radio license to help her efforts on behalf a Eucharistic Minister; ushers at the of the American Red Cross. She was recently Glenridge Performing Arts Center; does balance training, deployed to Houston to aid in the recovery weight lifting and line dancing; and has learned lip reading. after Hurricane Harvey.

Wait … there’s more. Mary is also a licensed ham radio operator, which means that she can keep communication flowing if phone service is disrupted. “I’m licensed for a handheld transmitter,” Mary says. “I figured it could come in handy for the Red Cross.”

Along those lines, Mary’s latest venture is establishing a weather station at The Glenridge – featuring a camera feed hooked up to the Weather Underground website. “I move toward difficult things,” she admits, “because I like to learn.”

At The Glenridge, where lifelong learning and involvement are woven into the fabric of day-to-day life, Mary fits in seamlessly. “I love it here,” she says. “And for those considering moving to a community like this: Take time to study the options. You’ll know when you find the right match.”

The Glenridge Experience:

Customized from the Inside Out Members join The Glenridge for reasons as different as they are. And that individuality shapes their experience from the onset.

“We want everyone to know that when they come here, they can create a truly unique lifestyle,” says director of life planning, Lisa Snyder. “And that begins by choosing from a variety of floor plans with the option to customize beyond the remodeling done

by The Glenridge.”

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efore coming to The Glenridge, Lee and Kathie Carrick had been splitting their time between residences in Michigan and Sarasota.

While turning two households into one was admittedly a challenge, the fact that the couple chose a Club Home made the transition easier.

“We liked the idea of still having our own house,” says Kathie. “But it was also really important that we were able to customize it even beyond the remodeling done by The Glenridge.

We wanted to make the space uniquely ours.”

With that in mind, the Carricks made a number of extra alterations, including vinyl flooring throughout the two-bedroom, two-bath house; specialty overhead lighting in the dining and living rooms; converting a closet into an alcove for desk space; and a screened-in back porch.

Kathie, who loves to paint, also turned the spare bedroom into an art studio that doubles as a guest room. “It’s quite comfortable,” she says, pointing out Lee and Kathie Carrick chose a spacious, newly remodeled that the closet was modified to hold her Glenridge Club Home and then made additional alterations painting supplies as well as clothes. to meet their needs.

“We got what we wanted,” sums up For the Carricks, living at The Glenridge Kathie, “and The Glenridge made it easy has not only relieved the stress of home for us.” maintenance, but it has also alleviated concerns Moving into a Club Home allowed for both about any medical issues that may arise in interior and exterior space for Bella, the couple’s the future. “The continuum of care was really playful Australian Labradoodle, who serves as a therapy dog. “The Glenridge is very pet friendly,” important to us,” says Lee, a former microbiology professor who taught at Wayne State says Kathie, who served as the vice president of University. “We wanted to take responsibility human resources at AT&T in Detroit. “We feel for our future – not leave it to others.” very welcomed here … and so does Bella!”

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