Vil seniorchoices 04-15

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91-year-old combat engineer recalls WW II

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Klotz, a memorable character, recalls past 90 years

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The world according to Mort Marks pages

6-7 Looking for care for a loved one with dementia? page

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A supplement to The Villager Newspaper April 16, 2015

PAGE 2 | THE VILLAGER • April 16, 2015

Mind to Mines 91-year-old combat engineer recalls Nazi mines

D

BOB SWEENEY on and Arlene Johnson of Cherry Hills Village know how to throw a party, and it was at a recent event that we were sitting around their dining room table listening to 90-year-old Mort Marks relate incidents of World War II. At this point, Howard Farkas joined the conversation and told the group he had also served in World War II. His story emerges as one of patriotism, duty, dedication and heroism as an Army combat engineer.

Farkas is best known as a longtime successful Denver businessman, who, among many accomplishments, built Windsor Gardens.

We listened intently as he told stories about his experiences in the European combat zones and his job of defusing German mine fields.

Here is his story and military experience as told over some early morning coffee recently at McDonald’s.

Farkas was born in Chicago on April 1, 1924. The 91-year-old is still going strong. As he eats his Sausage McMuffin (without cheese) the very dapper gentleman takes me on a history trip back through time and a portion of World War II. Farkas graduated from Von Steuben High School and attended Wright Junior College for one and half years until he was drafted into the war at age 18.

He reported to Fort Bliss, Texas, to join a newly formed anti-aircraft artillery unit that was scheduled for deployment with Gen. Patton’s campaign in North Africa.

Recruits were tested on arrival and Farkas had the second highest score of Fort Bliss soldiers. While only a buck private, the lowest

rank in the military, he was given a five-stripe sergeant job in the new unit.

Without undergoing any basic training, Farkas and the new unit comprising more than 900 soldiers were soon transferred to an East Coast firing range to learn the gunnery procedures for firing the 90mm guns over water.

Working late one night in battalion headquarters, he requested of the commandant colonel to go to officer’s candidate school (OCS) or an Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), which was essentially returning to college. The colonel gave him three minutes to make up his mind and Farkas chose OCS. Then Howard relates that he had the gall to request a similar assignment for a buddy in the same unit, Jim Lockman of Waukesha, Wis., who was the one who had the highest testing score of the Fort Bliss group.

The colonel was aware Farkas had not completed basic training and took him under his wing and gave the young soldier a threeweek crash course in military training, putting him in five-line companies.

Farkas was off to Camp Davis N.C. and graduated first in his OCS class.

In the meantime, the air war was nearly over in North Africa and the units to which he was assigned as an officer were merely practicing in the U.S. Discovering that the Army was short of combat engineers and that he was not being utilized, he requested a transfer from the Artillery Corps to the Corps of Engineers. He was assigned to Fort Belvoir for engineering training and joined the 1290 Combat Engineers as a new second lieutenant.

The unit was shipped to Scotland and then into England to the Village of Stow On The Wold. The unit trained in that area as the massive invasion of Normandy occurred on June 6, 1944.

The engineers crossed the English Channel to LeHavre in No-

Howard Farkas vember and commenced to build and destroy bridges, and the most dangerous assignment of all, to remove thousands of Nazi land mines causing many unit casualties.

They worked their way northeast across France crossing the Saar River into Saarbrucken, Germany. The Germans had laid countless mine fields as a defense shield against the advancing Allied forces.

Farkas said he was sent back to England to a “mine school” for three days of intensive training on how to dismantle the two types of mines; the most prevalent being an anti-personnel “Schu” – one-quarter pound TNT mine made of fiberboard so it could not be detected by metal detectors – and anti-vehicle mines with eight pounds of explosive materials called “Teller Mines.”

He recalled the first unit casualty being Sgt. Scott, who was quickly buried in a field by German nuns.

“You always remember the first person in your unit that was

killed,” Farkas reminisces, his mind still sharp as a tack remembering names, places and spellings of names and places.

Our coffee grew cold, as Farkas shared these vivid memories with me.

He counts his blessings during the war while reminiscing about Jim Lockman, who was sent to OCS with him. Lockman and most other members of the class were later transferred to the infantry, where Lockman was first wounded in France by five pieces of shrapnel. Farkas visited him in a hospital in England after which he was returned to his unit on the continent, shot again in the lung, and evacuated to the U.S. His unit was in the famed Black Forest in Mainz, Germany, across the Rhine River when the war ended.

Farkas had a brief leave to Cannes, France, and ended up hitching a plane ride in a B17 that was on a pilot test run that almost crashed with Farkas strapped on a wooden seat in the Bombardier Bay. He took the train to Cannes

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SeniorChoices

abandoning any military flights.

His combat engineers were then re-equipped and ordered to the recently defeated Japaneseheld Island of Okinawa for what was to be the invasion of the Japanese homeland.

The unit shipped out of Marseilles, France, in a Naval fleet of 13 ships headed to Okinawa through the Panama Canal. Soon after departing Marseilles, France, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and while approaching the Straits of Gibraltar, another atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki.

The war with Japan was over, but 12 of the ships continued to Japan occupation deployment.

Farkas’s luck was with him, and his ship, a new high-speed vessel, “General Breckenridge” was ordered back to New York harbor posthaste to start transporting American troops home from Europe.

Farkas remained in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., for another year with one of his additional duties to instruct returning GI’s on their military benefits. The last men to leave the unit were the commanding officer, Col. Sidney Hardman – a West Point graduate, who moved to Berkley, Calif., as a career officer, and Farkas who returned to Chicago in 1946.

With a GI Bill in hand, Farkas was accepted to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, but because of a large influx of ex-students returning from the war, he was offered the freshman instead of sophomore class, which he declined.

He married a Chicago girl Annabella whom he had met while enroute to OCS training in 1943.

The young couple struck out for the University of Denver, where Farkas earned an accounting degree and while part-time tutoring and selling shoes at Fontius, a well-known Denver store.

The couple had two sons: Robert, born in 1950, followed by Richard in 1954.

Farkas’s mind had always served him well and he had survived the minefields of Europe and now the classrooms of DU where he finished first in his class with a grade average of 3.909. He said he earned one B during his undergraduate studies.

He joined the Ralph B. Mayo accounting firm, which later became Arthur Young, a national CPA firm.

During these school years, Farkas remained in the inactive reserves. Suddenly in 1950, the North Koreans invaded South Korea starting the new Korean War. Always patriotic, Farkas asked to be placed in the active reserves although at this time was registered to attend DU Law School.

While in the active reserves, his unit trained to be deployed to South Korea. Farkas’s new role in the unit was as a Group Intelligence Officer.

He was recalled to active duty for deployment to Korea in December 1950, but with his status in an early ready engineer Group Headquarters unit, he was removed from orders and remained in the Denver-based unit. He stayed in the reserves and trained engineers over his 22-year career ending as a major.

His next project became the development and construction of Windsor Gardens. To be continued…

SeniorChoices

April 16, 2015 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 3

Delicious recipes from Centennial Home Care Assistance

Salmon Salad Ingredients - Serves 2 1 7.5 oz can of wild salmon, drained, with skin and large bones removed 1 Tbsp basil pesto 1 small clove garlic, minced 2 drained, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped 1 Tbsp non-fat Greek yogurt 2 scallions, finely chopped 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Recipes courtesy of www.CentennialHomeCareAssistance.com Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 ripe, firm avocado halved with pit removed In a bowl, combined salmon, pesto, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, Greek yogurt, scallions and vinegar; mash with a fork. Add a little water to adjust texture, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon salmon salad into avocado halves and serve.

$ocial $ecurity Matters

BY AMAC’S CERTIFIED SOCIAL SECURITY ADVISOR C.J. MILES ASSOCIATION OF MATURE AMERICAN CITIZENS

C.J. Miles QUESTION: Some people say you don’t owe taxes on Social Security benefits, some people say you only owe a little, and some say you owe a lot. I don’t know who to believe and I just don’t want to be blindsided. Can you help?

ANSWER: There is a possibility that you will owe federal income tax on your Social Security benefits - they can tax anywhere between 0 percent and 85 percent of your total annual benefit. Typically the amount of your benefit that is taxed (if any) has a lot to do with how much other income you have because the IRS looks at your “combined income” for the year. The Social Security Administration (SSA) defines “combined income” as your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) + half your Social Security benefit.

(MAGI is equal to your adjusted gross income + non-taxable interest income). You should have received a 1099 from the SSA that tells you how much you received in Social Security benefits for 2014. So to determine your combined income, add half of that amount to your MAGI. How much of your benefit is taxed is not only based on your combined income, but also your marital status. Therefore, you can get a

if:

general idea of whether or not you will owe federal income tax on your Social Security benefits based on the following: You will probably not owe income tax on your Social Security benefits

• You are single and file an individual tax return, and your “combined income” is under $25,000.

• You are married and file jointly, and your “combined income” is less than $32,000.

You will probably owe income tax on up to 50 percent of your Social Security benefits if: • You are single and file an individual tax return, and your “combined income” is between $25,000 and $34,000 • You are married and file jointly, and your “combined income” is between $32,000 and $44,000.

If your combined income is more than the above amounts, you will likely owe income tax on between 50 percent and 85 percent of your Social Security benefits. If you are married and file separately, you will probably pay income taxes on some portion of your benefits. Note that under no circumstances will someone pay income tax on more than 85 percent of their benefit.

QUESTION: I am kicking myself because I filed my income taxes for 2014 and owed a lot of money. I’m thinking that it might help me budget for next year if

Social Security were to just withhold income tax from my benefit, but they’ve never done that before. Is that even an option? If it is, how do I get them to do it?

ANSWER: Actually, you can have income tax withheld from your benefit – all you have to do is make a request. You need to fill out the form W-4V, which is similar to a W-4 that you would fill out for an employer (“V” stands for “voluntary” because you do not have to have taxes withheld from your benefit). It is a very short, simple form that Social Security supplies on their website. The major difference between a W-4 and a W-4V is that the W-4V asks how much you want taken out of your benefit. You are allowed to choose from 7 percent, 10 percent, 15 percent, or 25 percent of your benefit amount, but you cannot choose a dollar amount or a different percentage not listed.

If at any time you want to either change the percentage or stop the withholding altogether, you fill out the same form and simply check a different box.

To ask a question about Social Security contact AMAC’s C.J. Miles at cmiles@amac.us.

The information contained in this article is for general information purposes only. Every individual’s situation is unique and you should make your benefit choices according to your personal needs.

Furthermore, AMAC and its affiliates do not provide legal or accounting services. Please contact a licensed professional for such advice.

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Dark Chocolate Bark with Toasted Almonds and Dried Blueberries and Cherries Get a hit of antioxidants and omega-3s at dessert time with this nutty, fruity chocolate bark. Melting the chocolate slowly over very low heat will yield the best results. You can also melt it a few seconds at a time in a microwave; stop cooking before the chocolate is completely melted and stir out the last few lumps until smooth.

Ingredients - Serves 4 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1/3 cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped ¼ cup dried blueberries ¼ cup dried cherries Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. In a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally, just until the mixture is melted and smooth.

Remove from the heat.

Stir the almonds, blueberries and cherries into the melted chocolate. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, scrape the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and

spread out to a thickness of ¼ inch.

Refrigerate the chocolate bark until completely firm, about 2 hours. Break or cut into chunks. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Makes 12 oz.

PAGE 4 | THE VILLAGER • April 16, 2015

SeniorChoices

Klotz, a memorable character, recalls past 90 years ‘I just got a new driver’s license which is good for 5 more years’ and I plan to use it’

J

BY TOM BARRY ack Klotz is approaching a memorable 90th birthday this week in southeast Denver. The retired pharmaceutical salesman and district manger is still full of life, humor, insight and wisdom.

Klotz grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s, tough times that were never forgotten by those who endured the hardships for a decade.

“I think I achieved a lot coming from a Depression kid. We could not pay the grocery bill,” Klotz said. “I worked hard from age 13 to 18. I worked every day after school and all day Saturday and Sunday [at the neighborhood drugstore].”

In 1943 during World War II, Klotz enlisted in what was then the Army Air Corps, the predecessor to the Air Force. He served as a bombardier on a B-29 crew in the Pacific, bombing Japan. He earned the rank of first lieutenant, serving for three years and three months.

“I had a great fifth-grade geography teacher that taught me that after a war they sat down at a peace table – and they could have sat down at a peace table before the war. I will never forget her telling me that,” the war veteran said.

“I think that we have war that isn’t necessary, and I would hate to see my grandsons go to war.”

After returning stateside, Klotz attended pharmacy school at the University of Kansas City, becoming a registered pharmacist with a PhT degree as a pharmacy technician

Jack Klotz served as a first lieutenant in the Army Air Corp as a bombardier in a B-29.

He jokes that Shirley, his wife of 66 years, earned her PhT simultaneously. With a wide-brimmed smile, he said the acronym stands

for “Pushed Him Through.”

“My Colorado [pharmacist] license number was 9007,” Klotz added. “I had a license to kill,”

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The vibrant Klotz first went to work for E.R. Squibb and Sons, earning $175 per month, and purchased a new 1951 Chevy Coupe for $1,600. He worked for several other pharmaceutical companies over his lengthy career.

The couple raised three children, John and Rick, who reside in metro Denver, and Susan, who lives in Portland, Ore. Their pride and joy are their children, seven grandchildren and one great granddaughter.

“I love each and every one of them,” said Klotz, noting that he and Shirley had gladly contributed to their college educations. “I hope that my grandchildren look at where I am in my life … and they hope to achieve as much, and much more.”

Happy and content

Klotz is happy – and he has

Photos by Tom Barry

some thoughts for younger generations.

“I guess I wouldn’t change anything. … I’ve met my goals. I’m very happy and content with my life,” he said. “I think young people today should take a good look at where their lives are headed, and they certainly have to look toward the future and plan for it, and they need to buckle down and do some hard work to reach their goal.”

When asked about his wife, Jack replied, “Well, she puts up with me and she keeps the house running good. … She does allow me to have a checkbook and a credit card.”

Klotz attributes his wittiness to his mother, who had a great sense of humor.

“I just got a new driver’s license, which is good for five more years – and I plan to use it,” he added.

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Jack Klotz’s U.S. Army ID card. He served in the Air Corp in the Pacific during World War II as a bombardier with a B-29 crew.

SeniorChoices

April 16, 2015 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 5

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Jack Klotz and his son Rick intently watch last week’s Colorado Rockies’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

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Jack Klotz, 90 years young, is a proud grandfather and retired pharmaceutical district manager residing in southeast Denver. items in his basement, including a Stan Musial baseball jersey given to him by his son Rick and his wife Susan Brett.

Sitting upon an old green metal desk is a wood-carved scale replica of a B-29 and assorted photos and political memorabilia, including an original 1996 Dole-Kemp sign autographed by both candidates.

Klotz, a lifelong dyed-in-thewool Republican, reminisced about working on his good friend Joe Rogers’ two campaigns. He was exceptionally proud when Rogers was elected lieutenant governor, serving under Gov. Bill Owens.

The relatively spry Klotz attributes his longevity in part to a multivitamin that he and Shirley have taken every day. Whether it works or not, he has made it to nine decades of life somehow.

A social life is part of the equation – particularly a group of friends that gather each weekday morning at a nearby McDonald’s for two hours of reminiscing over coffee.

“A variety of people that are retired get up there every morning and lie to each other,” Klotz said.

A little bit of baseball doesn’t hurt either.

“The Rockies will be better, but

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Jack Klotz, second from right, in 1990 stands with then-Lt. Gov. Joe Rogers, Gov. Bill Owens and U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, an Oklahoma Republican and onetime football quarterback.

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PAGE 6 | THE VILLAGER • April 16, 2015

SeniorChoices

The world according to Mort Marks The party isn’t over for 90-year-old Villager columnist

BY PETER JONES Who needs Jeane Kirkpatrick when you’ve got Mort Marks?

In 1993 when Pope John Paul II was slated to visit Arapahoe County, the unofficial godfather of the county’s Republican Party was called in to settle what he says was an innerparty dispute over the expense of papal security.

The Jewish Marks had been drafted by a Catholic monsignor, who was concerned about disagreements among the Republican county commissioners and sheriff over the cost of security during the pope’s planned stop in the south suburbs.

“I said, ‘What do you want? Do you want to convert me?’” Marks wryly recalled asking. “He said it looks like the pope might not come to Arapahoe County because of the fight going on. So I used some profanity and told [county officials] what I thought of them and they settled it.”

Marks later received a personal thank-you from the Holy See. “He was a very nice gentleman,” the Republican said of the Catholic world leader. “I said, ‘You know, ‘I’m Jewish.’ He said, ‘I heard that.’

I said, ‘You know, Jesus was Jewish also.’ He said, ‘Yes, I heard that.’”

Marks, who turned 90 in January, has been living the dream of Arapahoe County politics – often brusquely – since moving here in the early 1970s. He co-founded the county’s influential and often-cantankerous Republican Men’s Club and has shared his musings in his “Remarks” column in The Villager since the early 1980s.

Having served as the grand old

President Reagan greets Mort Marks in the 1980s while Marks was running Reagan’s Colorado presidential campaign.

Photo courtesy of Mort Marks man of county Republicans since before he was 50, Marks has nurtured, cheered, and run the campaigns and political careers of GOP stalwarts, from onetime Gov. Bill Owens to astronaut-turned-U.S. Rep. Jack Swigert. In the 1980s, Marks cochaired the Colorado campaign for President Reagan.

Despite his place on the speed dial of countless party activists, the still-active nonagenarian Republican has long shunned the spotlight himself, preferring a sometimesboisterous advisory role to his own place in public service.

“Why should I be elected to an office and have one vote when I can influence 35 and 40 votes? Think about it,” he said.

Mort meets FDR

Born in 1925, Marks has had a lifetime to develop his political wherewithal, having grown up in what was then a more casual and friendly Washington, D.C. Living near a Quaker church, the boy would often greet congregant President Hoover and later mingled with President Roosevelt after White House Easter egg hunts.

“He would come out in his wheelchair and I’d shake hands with him. He was a very friendly man.

He couldn’t go on the grass. We’d have to walk over to him,” Marks said of the three-term Democratic president.

Of course, that was before the second-grader had become a confirmed Republican. By the time

Roosevelt was challenged by the GOP’s Wendell Willkie in 1940, 15-year-old Marks had joined the

choruses of “We Want Willkie.”

“I never liked giving money away to people if you worked for it,” he said of his political awakening.

“Democrats are always very, very liberal. Willkie and Republicans were conservative. You earned your money, you paid your taxes, and you had a great life.”

In retrospect, Marks says he is glad Roosevelt was victorious – a rare moment of posthumous Democratic endorsement from this diehard Republican.

“Roosevelt was the right man to fight the war because the people were behind him and he knew how to unite the country,” he said.

Marks’s worldview would develop in spite of his parents – his father, an apolitical patent attorney, and his devotedly religious Jewish Orthodox mother.

“We walked to the synagogue,” Marks remembered. “The women would sit upstairs in the balcony.

The men would sit by themselves on the first floor. The services were in 100-percent Hebrew.”

Although his parents were not among that long-held political body of East Coast Jewish liberals, Marks

A collection of personal political memorabilia hangs in Mort Marks’s office.

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SeniorChoices

April 16, 2015 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 7

“I’m not conservative on 100 percent of the issues … Maybe 110 percent.”

- Mort Marks, Villager columnist

Pope John Paul II sent Mort and Edie Marks an official “Apostolic Blessing” after the Jewish activist intervened with Republican county officials to facilitate the pope’s 1993 visit to Colorado. increasingly grew accustomed to his own place as a relative minority within the Jewish community.

“Jews are very intelligent in college, very intelligent in business, and are absolutely stupid when it comes to politics,” he quipped.

Off to World War II

Neither religion nor politics could save Marks from the foxhole when the 18-year-old received his draft notice on April 6, 1943.

“You think I was gong to volunteer? Of course, I was drafted,” he said. “They said, ‘Where would you like to serve?’ I said, ‘In the Air Force.’ Two days later, I was in Fort McClellan, Ala., taking infantry basic.”

Marks wound up in the 87th Army Division under the command of Gen. George Patton and met his moment with history in December 1944 when the Germans launched a surprise offence that was one for the history books.

“Everybody figured the winter was going to be nice and quiet. We all went to Luxembourg,” he said.

“After about two weeks, the Germans, being smart and aware we were sleeping, started the Battle of the Bulge. I don’t think the United States could [today] take what happened then.”

According to some counts, as many as 19,000 Americans were killed in what was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States during World War II. Marks’s ethnic-linguistic knowledge would come into play when English-speaking Germans in U.S. uniforms began infiltrating their way past the frontlines. The East Coaster says he consulted with a general on pronunciations – and the fact that password-stealing Germans were still pronouncing their W’s with a V sound.

The only problem was that many New Yorkers had a similar pronunciation.

“We started to use WW words,” Marks said. “Our password was ‘Which Way.’ We’d say ‘Which.’

They’d say ‘Vay.’ We shot. Little things like that changed history. We were very fortunate we didn’t have any New Yorkers in our area.”

Once stateside, Marks was ready to call it a day.

“I gave my uniform to my mother and said, ‘Burn it.’ I wish I had it today. Who the hell thought I was going to live to be 90 years old?” he said.

Later while Marks was an engineering student at New York’s Columbia University, he came face to face with then-former U.S. Presi-

dent Eisenhower. The supreme commander of the Allied Forces in Europe was now Columbia’s general.

While casually chatting with Republican “Ike,” Marks suddenly stepped back. After all, the onetime draftee had not even saluted his wartime commander.

“I realized a lousy second lieutenant was talking to the chief of staff of the entire Allied Forces,” Marks recalled. “He said, ‘It’s OK. This is the first time I’ve ever spoken to a lousy second lieutenant.’”

Westward ho!

After stints as a stockbroker and apartment manager, Marks and his family came westward.

By then, he had married Edie.

His daughters, Lori and Elise, soon followed.

“We were going to get the hell out of the East. We saw something about Cherry Creek Schools being a good school system,” Marks said.

Before long, the incoming Republican had become a local party leader and was mentoring the likes of a young Texas transplant named Bill Owens.

“He called me up and said, ‘How do I get involved in Republican politics?’ I said, ‘Come with me,’” Marks said of the future governor.

As for the eventual U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, “We sent him to Washington. We didn’t need another governor,” Marks said.

By the end of the 1970s, Marks had founded the Arapahoe County Republican Men’s Club, which became as influential as it was cranky.

“In order to get elected to a position in Colorado, you had to become well known in the Men’s Club,” he said. “But in the last few years, things changed.”

This year, the old club morphed into the Arapahoe County Republican Breakfast Club, an arguably milder and decidedly more inclusive organization that meets monthly, rather than weekly.

Villager publisher Bob Sweeney got to know Marks through the old club meetings and one day asked the outspoken partisan to write a regular column.

“I said, ‘Bob, I never wrote an article in my life.’ He said, ‘Write like you talk,’” Marks said, some 30 years and several awards later.

The columnist and grandfather of four says he has not changed much during his nine decades on Earth, except for the inevitable – he has gotten older.

“I’m not conservative on 100 percent of the issues,” he said, citing

Villager columnist Mort Marks sits by a portrait of President Ronald Reagan that hangs in his home office.

Photos by Peter Jones an example. “I’m conservative on maybe 110 percent.”

Even though it has become increasingly difficult for Marks to get

around, he does not give age any more credit than it deserves, especially when it comes to his brain.

“It’s all in your mind. I still feel

like a young man,” he said. “If I could run, I’d run. But mostly, I still write for – what’s the name of that newspaper?”

Assisted Living With Secure Memory Care Openings! Tours Available 7 Days A Week

W e have added 48 assisted living and 20 memory care apartments

on our beautiful 19 acre campus to complement our historic existing assisted living apartments and spacious independent living patio homes. We are conveniently located in Southeast Denver at 2445 South Quebec Street. Please feel free to contact us for pricing and available floor plans. No Masonic affiliation required.

Settle in, grow and thrive with the peace of mind that assistance is immediately nearby if needed.

For more information, please call our Marketing Department at 303-800-3480 or go to www.esmrc.com

PAGE 8 | THE VILLAGER • April 16, 2015

SeniorChoices

96-year-old Greenwood Village resident’s 19th century quilt As a young girl, 96-year-old Alice Zwanzig spent her summers at her grandparents’ house in Somerset, Nova Scotia, and fondly remembers snuggling under a very special quilt. Today, that same quilt is happily retired inside the cedar chest of Alice’s apartment at The Inn at Greenwood Village Assisted Living Community.

The “Autograph Quilt,” as it is known, was made in 1880 by a group of neighborhood women in North Philadelphia as a parting gift to Alice’s grandfather, a Scottish Presbyterian minister who was leaving to work at a church in Somerset. The quilt consists of 40 handmade and personally signed squares and is large enough to cover a double bed.

The Autograph Quilt’s traveling adventures began when Alice’s parents inherited the quilt after her grandfather’s passing. The family lived in New Jersey at the time, and in 1956 moved to British Columbia.

Years later when Alice got married, she along with her husband

Someday, the quilt will return to Teresa but until then, Alice will cherish and relive childhood memories of “the Traveling Adventures of the Quilt That Could,” as she says.

The Inn at Greenwood Village is located at 5565 S. Yosemite Street in Greenwood Village and provides high quality assisted living services for local seniors and their families within a warm intimate setting. For more information, call 303-327-7340 or email GWmarketing@mbk.com.

and two children moved to Quebec City, Canada. During their time in Quebec, her mother passed down the quilt to Alice’s 3-year-old daughter, Lisa.

In 1970, Alice, her family, and the quilt moved to Denver. Sadly in January 2009, Alice’s daughter Lisa passed away. The quilt was

given to Lisa’s daughter, Teresa, and remained with her in various parts of Colorado.

A few years back, Alice and Alice Zwanzig, 96

guardian. At The Inn at Greenwood Village Resident Art Show in March, Alice had the opportunity to display her family’s treasured

the quilt were reunited when Teresa took a teaching position in Dubai and Alice became the quilt’s

Autograph Quilt and share its history filled with so many family memories.

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SeniorChoices

April 16, 2015 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 9

Downsizing, uncluttering and other ways to lighten your load

The 9Health Fair is a reliable, affordable way to manage your health and keep costs in check.

Courtesy photo

9Health Fair is opportunity to make your health matter Spring is here and it’s time for 9Health Fair. Each year, thousands of people across the state celebrate health by attending a 9Health Fair. In its 36-year history, 9Health Fair has served 2.1 million people and helped save countless lives with professional and affordable health screenings.

A nonprofit organization unique to Colorado, 9Health Fair is one of the reasons our state consistently ranks as the healthiest state. We love to be active, outdoors, and we love to look and feel healthy. That’s one reason so many people attend 9Health Fair each year. They know they will receive professional medical screenings at an affordable price and receive comprehensive information their doctors can trust.

Whether or not you have health insurance, 9Health Fair is a reliable, affordable way to manage your health and keep costs in check. The most popular screening is the blood chemistry, which provides information about blood sugar (glucose), cholesterol, triglycerides, liver, kidney, bone and muscle function and may show warning signs of diabetes, heart disease and other concerns.

It covers 28 important measures for just $35 – a value of more than $150-$250 at a medical facility. It is a comprehensive overview that

can help detect an issue before it becomes a major obstacle.

Other affordable screenings include a $30 prostatic specific antigen (PSA) screening for men, which checks for prostate gland issues and cancer, a $20 blood cell count screening, which checks the health of your blood, a $45 vitamin D screening, which measures your baseline vitamin D level, a $30 hemoglobin A1C screening that gives an average blood sugar level over a 3 month period, and a $25 colon cancer screening takehome kit, which checks for colon cancer. Free screenings such as blood pressure, breast exams, prostate/testicular, oral, hearing, foot, skin and more are offered at specific locations.

Now it’s even easier! Based on current research, the Medical Advisory Committee determined that fasting is optional for blood screenings. Also new is the Total Wellness Zone – offered at select fairs to address general wellness including complementary and alternative health practices. Participants learn about healthy lifestyle practices like yoga, pet therapy, cooking classes and massage. To find a location near you, register online, or for more information, visit www.9HealthFair.org or call 303-698-4455 or 1-800-3323078.

SUBMITTED BY LYNN CAHEN, MORNINGSTAR AT JORDAN After living in the same home for 20, 30 years or more, after raising a bustling family, and going deep with all the essentials and non-essentials of life, it’s small wonder our houses become stuffed…with stuff!

Some of it represents the very best life has to offer: relationships, treasured moments in time, priceless keepsakes and mementos.

But the lion’s share of these possessions, if we take a discerning look, is – not to mince words – clutter. Deadweight.

Objects that no longer propel us forward, but hold us back.

True, you may have turned a blind eye to your jammed closets until now. But if you’ve decided (or know you need to decide) to move, this monstrous pile must be tackled. But be encouraged from the start, for the rewards of downsizing are many. It’s the quickest road to simplifying your life and separating the trivial from the vital.

Having already gone through the process with my own parents, and beginning to go through it for my and husband and myself I offer this: Go professional. Professional organizers abound, experts who come alongside you to help sort, purge, sell, donate, pack. They’ll even host your estate sale.

If your new home is already chosen and awaiting you, with actual move-in date on the calendar, your path to freedom is even more clear.

Take up a measuring tape and be realistic about what you can keep. This is where an emotionally detached professional or friend can serve you well. If you find yourself slipping into sentimentality, remember: the fewer things you ultimately retain, the more precious each will be to you, while the things you let go can bless the next owner.

Your enthusiasm is bound to flag when it comes to sifting through personal papers. Don’t take it on alone. Find a professional. Find a pal. And know 80 percent of those sheets are not essential. (Of course, make sure to shred discarded records to protect your identity.)

Through it all, keep your eyes on the prize. A smaller home, perhaps one in a senior community like MorningStar at Jordan, gives you an ease and flexibility long missed. Finally,

it’s someone else’s turn to take on peripheral responsibilities Assisted Living | Memory Care | Respite Care | Day Program while you breath deep and take up a more relaxed gait.

Welcome to a simplified (even purified) life, one still full of adventure and purpose, but not so full (thank goodness) of material stuff.

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PAGE 10 | THE VILLAGER • April 16, 2015

SeniorChoices

Eastern Star Masonic Retirement Campus expansion a success The Eastern Star Masonic Retirement Campus recently opened the expansion of the new Mary Barry Assisted Living Building last November.

“The building is filling up quickly,” said Larry Lillo, executive director. “I think one of the driving factors to our success is our affordable pricing.”

The campus added 48 additional assisted living apartments and 20 secure memory care apartments for those who have Alzheimer’s or advanced dementia.

“Our addition of the memory care unit is critical, as more and more seniors are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s,” Lillo said.

The Eastern Star Masonic Retirement Campus was established 83 years ago by Mary Barry and Robert Russell.

Barry had the vision, Russell, a mason, had the funds. Together they built the original building, which still houses 42 assisted living apartments today. The community accepts private pay

residents and also offers a Medicaid option for those who are low on funds.

In addition, the campus has 58 independent patio homes for seniors who are still active and capable of living independently. Those units vary from a one-bedroom patio home to a two-bedroom patio home with a basement.

The community still has assisted living apartments available for rent.

The marketing department is available seven days a week to provide tours to anyone interested in taking a look. For more information on pricing and floor plans, call Diane or Debra at 303-731-5918.

2445 S Quebec St, Denver 303-731-1947 www.esmrc.com

Assisted Living With Secure Memory Care Openings! Tours Available 7 Days A Week

The new Mary Barry Assisted Living Building on the Eastern Star Masonic Retirement Campus is open and filling up quickly.

Courtesy photo

Sonny Wiegand dubbed ‘Citizen of the Decade’

ces located in: W e have added 48 assistedOffi living and 20 memory care apartments Breckenridge Denver

on our beautiful 19 acre campus to complement our historic existing assisted living apartments and spacious independent living patio homes. We are conveniently located in Southeast Denver at 2445 South Quebec Street. Please feel free to contact us for pricing and available floor plans. No Masonic affiliation required.

Settle in, grow and thrive with the peace of mind that assistance is immediately nearby if needed.

For more information, please call our Marketing Department at 303-800-3480 or go to www.esmrc.com

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Long-time Greenwood Hills resident Robert “Sonny” Wiegand II was recently dubbed “Citizen of the Decade” by City Councilwoman Leslie Schluter.

“Sonny is an unsung hero. His impact on the Greenwood Hills community during his tenure there remains significant. Even today the community’s strength is in no small part due to his many years of work on its behalf. As a community leader, he influenced the development quality, aesthetic strength and market value,” Schluter said.

“There is a great deal to admire about what he has done with his life and the way he has done it. I deeply appreciate the Wiegand family’s quiet and extensive support of the arts and service organizations, most notably Colorado Symphony Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, and Rotary.”

Schluter and her husband Drew Sweeney chose Greenwood Village for their new home in 1999.

Both became involved in various capacities, with Sweeney going on the Greenwood Hills HOA board, and both serving as parent volunteers in their children’s schools and extra-curricular sports and activities. Specific to Greenwood Village, Schluter served over eight years on boards and commissions, beginning with Board of Adjustments and Appeals in early 2003, the last two years as vice chair, and on Planning and Zoning from early 2010 until her election to Council in November 2011. As such, they both had a rich history working alongside Wiegand as a fellow neighbor and actively involved citizen, dedicated to the betterment of Greenwood Village and Greenwood Hills.

Greenwood Hills is bounded

by Quebec, Holly, Belleview and

Pam and Sonny Wiegand at the 2014 National Repertory Orchestra gala

File photo

Orchard and the HOA is run entirely by volunteers. Wiegand and his wife Pam lived there for more than 20 years. It is where they raised their children, coached soccer and were involved in many civic activities and causes. Wiegand also ran his law practice in the neighborhood, until their youngest graduated (and the dog died), and they decided to downsize the family home in favor of urban living in Uptown Denver and moved his law offices Uptown as well.

In 2004, after living in the community for 24 years, to commemorate the move and his dedicated service, Wiegand was awarded the Neighbor of the Year Award by the Greenwood Hills Homeowners Association. The award was given to honor his more than 20 years of service to the community. However, since this award has only ever been given out twice in the last 15 years, and has not been given out again since it was awarded to him 10 years ago, Schluter saw it fitting to now dub Wiegand as “Citizen of the Decade.”

“Sonny brought expert financial knowledge to the table. He not only donated his time, but also his background and resources.

He had an ability to recommend, analyze and address, and this was a huge asset. He did the treasury work as a volunteer. He was later elected to City Council as one of two from our district,” Sweeney said.

Specifically, Wiegand served on the City of Greenwood Village

City Council from 1983 to 1987, including serving as a liaison to the Colorado Municipal League.

He was president and Member of the Board of directors, Greenwood Hills Homeowners Association from 1978 to 1981. He served as member of Board of Directors, Greenwood Hills Homeowners Association from 1992 to 2004 as their treasurer from 1998 to 2004.

“One of the significant feats of his tenure was joining as one of three plaintiffs filing suit against the city to reverse a major rezoning of the neighborhood, establishing by appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court the right of citizens to Petition on zoning issues. Later, when a mega-church threatened to move into the neighborhood, he participated in the citized action to address a lot of concerns about increased traffic and parking. It wasn’t about resisting change but about finding the right solution for all parties, and ultimately being able to steer the church into a much better location for their needs and keeping the quiet residential feel of the neighborhood intact,” Sweeney said.

Wiegand continues to practice law at Wiegand Attorneys and Counselors LLC with offices in Downtown Denver and Breckenridge. He specialized in business and individual taxes, business planning, estate planning and elder money management.

SeniorChoices

April 16, 2015 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 11

Actual Spectrum Residents

Sundance LTC personalizes longterm care plans SUBMITTED BY SCOTT EVANS Matt Chalek is the owner of Sundance LTC, a Greenwood Village based long-term care planning and insurance agency. Chalek comes at this from a deeply held personal perspective, as his mother battled ovarian cancer for more than four years before she needed hospice care. When she received her care in Florida, with Chalek’s dad unable to care for her and Chalek living with his family in Colorado, she battled cancer with in-home hospice care for five months before dying.

Like so many families, neither Chalek nor his parents could afford the $25,000 for hospice care. Fortunately, his mom owned a Genworth Long Term Care policy. This policy covered almost all the costs.

But that was only a portion of the benefit. Hospice care let Chalek’s mother spend her final months in her own home with her beloved husband. Chalek’s mom was in good hands and her financial assets went untouched. Furthermore, neither Chalek’s parents nor Chalek had to endure the financial strain during her final months. The policy bought care, peace and peace of mind.

At the time, Chalek had no idea how long-term care policies worked. He owned no such coverage. Thankful for the care his mother received and the other benefits, Chalek began to research policies and found very few of his friends had long-term care coverage. Feeling a need to help others receive the same benefits, Chalek became an expert in such coverage and received his license and formed Sundance LTC, focusing exclusively on long-term care planning. Chalek also became certified in Long-Term Care and joined the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

What is long-term care?

Long-term care is the help, or custodial care, that you or a family member may need when you are unable to perform some activities of daily living, as a result of accidents, illness, advanced aging, strokes or other chronic conditions.

It may also be needed due to cognitive impairment that compromises an individual from safely acting within one’s environment. ADLs include bathing, dressing, eating, transferring, continence, and toileting. Cognitive impairment can be as a result of Alzheimer’s disease or other brain disorder.

What are dangers for not having long-term care insurance?

The danger is not maintaining financial and family well being during a very stressful time if you or family member needs care. You have to ask how are you going to fund the care and who is going to provide it? Do you want to tap your retirement accounts and have to pull out money to cover taxes and care? Don’t you want that money to continue to work for your family needs? If you need care, do you

Matt Chalek, CLTC 720-339-5962 matt@sundanceltc.com www.sundanceltc.com

Life with...

want your spouse or kids taking care of you or do you want to make one call to the provider to help you coordinate care?

Important questions to ask

Go to www.sundanceltc.com to see more: • Who would provide care if you, your partner, or spouse needed long-term care when you are in retirement?

• What impact would it have on each spouse if, by chance, one or both, needed long-term care?

• Is your spouse or adult child willing and able to put their life on hold to provide care?

What does Sundance do?

Sundance creates a personalized long-term care plan and fund it with long term care insurance provided by leading carriers with a variety of policies, tailored to your specific needs.

With traditional policies, you pay an annual premium and get to tailor your benefits based on the factors that will fit your needs and lifestyle, if you need care. These include, but are not limited to: • Amount of monthly benefit • Length of benefits • Inflation adjustment • Shared benefits with a partner or spouse In general, you will pay premiums until you need the benefit. Even though premiums are designed to remain level, they can increase over time.

With linked benefit policies, your long-term care benefits are coupled with a life insurance policy. You still get to select the amount of monthly benefit, length of benefit, inflation adjustment, and shared benefit option. But you get additional benefits with this type of policy including: • A tax free life insurance benefit if you don’t ever use the LTC benefits • A fixed premium, never to change no matter what, even if you add inflation benefits • A guaranteed return of premium if you decide you no longer need the policy, • The option to pay premiums through a single or limited year pay • A buildup of cash value for future use

What do you see as the future of long-term care?

There are 1.3 million Baby Boomers in Colorado. Seventy percent of people 65 and older are projected to need long-term care.

Because Medicaid doesn’t pay for long-term care, and because we continue to live longer and longer, there is going to be a steadily increasing need for long-term care planning and care, itself.

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PAGE 12 | THE VILLAGER • April 16, 2015

SeniorChoices

Looking for care for a loved one with dementia?

Millbrook Homes Assisted Living ‘A Leader in Dementia’ SUBMITTED BY JANET CORNELL Many families are overwhelmed with the task of selecting an assisted living facility for a loved one. A new place where mom or dad will call home, make new friends, and be cared for. If your loved one has dementia, it can seem even more difficult as mom or dad may not have much input in the decision.

In Arapahoe County alone, there are more than 135 licensed assisted living facilities.

There are currently 5.3 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease. As many as 16 million will have the disease in 2050. Almost two thirds of these people are female. Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. The cost of caring for those with Alzheimer’s or another dementia is estimated to

total 226 billion in 2015. The Alzheimer’s Association the Colorado Chapter reports these facts.

Currently there is not a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. It cannot be prevented and the promise of slowing the progression is doubtful.

As a family member, you cannot change a loved one’s path you can only support the journey they have before them living with Alzheimer’s disease. Finding the right place for your loved one is a very important step.

Many of the professional sites give checklists on what to look for when selecting an assisted living facility. Some suggested things to look for are what services are available such as bathing, dressing and housekeeping. Other sites list things such as activities, outings and social options. Most suggest you tour the facility several times and talk with the residents or family members.

While no doubt these are

important, there is one aspect often overlooked and that is staff training. The staff interacts daily with the residents. They provide the fun, the laughter and the trusted care that families are looking for. Staff well trained in dementia can help lessen frustration, engage the residents to participate in meaning activities and provide direction to aid the resident in tasks such as brushing their teeth.

In July 2012, the Colorado Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association launched the Leader’s in Dementia Care program. In the Denver area, 27 assisted living fa-

Senior Living in

Centennial, CO 80111

Leaders In Dementia Logo.

Millbrook Homes Assisted Living has eight residential homes and is recognized as a Leader in Dementia by the Colorado Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

To find other facilities recognized as Leaders in Dementia Care, visit www.alz.org/ Colorado.

Your Neighborhood Secure Memory Care

Assisted Living

5809 S. Kenton Way

cilities are recognized as Leader’s in Dementia Care. To be recognized, the organization has to provide eight hours of Alzheimer’s specific care techniques annually.

Stand-alone memory care facilities must train 90 percent of the staff, others must train 75 percent of the staff. The Leaders in Dementia Care recognizes a commitment to train staff in order to better care for those residents who have dementia.

Families should ask the facility how the staff is trained. If the facility is recognized as A Leader in Dementia, they should see the

5809 S. Kenton Way Centennial, CO 80111 6462 S. Heritage Place Centennial, CO 80111 303-220-7989 www.millbrookcare.com

The Finest Care at Millbrook Homes

6462 S. Heritage Pl. Centennial, CO 80111

Benefits of a Home Setting More Familiar and Comfortable ■ Family Lifestyle – Home Cooked Meals ■ Residents continue the same routines that they are accustomed to ■

Only 5 Residents per Home ■ More Personal Attention ■ Loving Experienced Staff – 24 Hour Care ■

Respite Care ■ Onsite Doctor Visits ■ Nurse on call 24 hours/day ■

303.220-7989 • www.millbrookcare.com