Wichita Community Matters – January 2023

Wichita Presbyterian Manor

JANUARY 2023

Resident learned about aging - and young people - in college class Wichita Presbyterian Manor resident Sharon Chester holds multiple advanced degrees, but last fall she went back to college anyway.

Sharon audited an interdisciplinary seminar about intergenerational aging at Wichita State. Class enrollment was composed of half older adults and half students aged 18-22 in Wichita State’s Honors College.

Working outside class with a small group of college seniors gave Sharon a chance to get to know members of the next generation.

“We got well acquainted, and it was very interesting what the young people had to say,” Sharon said. “I got a sense that there was a lot of concern about their futures, about the economy, and whether they should start their adult life in the same city as their parents.”

Sharon hosted one of the planning sessions in her Westerly apartment, figuring that if they were learning about how seniors live, the young people should see it for themselves.

She served some of the “big, delicious cookies” she’d saved from her lunches.

“I don’t know if it was the place, the people, or the cookies, but they said we should meet here all the time,” she said with a laugh. The group usually lingers for an hour or more after they were finished, just to chat about their lives.

The small-group structure of the aging course is by design, said Dr. Louis Medvene, the emeritus professor of psychology at WSU who designed and teaches the intergenerational aging class.

Spending time together outside class helps members of each age group dispel stereotypes they hold about the other.

“The other students repeatedly say, ‘These students are really sharp, they

Learning about aging – continued on page 2

Charles and Sherri Liles

Welcome to our new independent living residents You may have noticed some new faces around Independent Living at the Westerly. Read on to learn more about three new members of our community.

Sherri and Charles Liles moved to Wichita Presbyterian Manor from their home in the Bayshore neighborhood, just a half mile west of our campus.

Both Charles and Sherri are from the Wichita area. They have been married for 20 years and have four children between the two of them. They decided to make the move to a senior living community because they were looking for more social contact.

Sherri worked for many years as a bookkeeper. After serving in the military, Charles went into law enforcement, serving in nearly every area at the Wichita Police Department over his more than two-decade career.

In 2001, he served as the president of the Retired Officers Association.

One of his more interesting assignments was on the Family Crisis Intervention Unit, where he spent three years in the 1970s. Charles

Welcome – continued on page 3

Get the latest on visitation and COVID-19 at our campus at WichitaPresbyterianManor.org/covid-19.

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Learning about aging – continued from page 1 work really hard,’” Louis said.

He designed the course in two parts. The first covers the current biological and psychological research on aging. The second half of the class explores the social policy: what are the consequences of changes in demographics and health outcomes?

These changes present both challenges and opportunities, Louis said.

“One thing we don’t lose as we get older is wisdom, and all the research points to that,” she said.

She and her fellow seniors shared some of that accrued wisdom with their younger classmates.

“I noticed the elderly students would try to be uplifting with them,” Sharon said. “As older adults, we’ve gone through a lot of life experiences, we’ve managed to go on when things haven’t always worked out.” u

“There is an increasing number of people over 65 who want to continue working, either in a traditional sense or as a volunteer,” he said. “If we can learn to take advantage of this resource, it will be a society-level kind of change.”

It’s what Louis calls the “longevity dividend:” As people live longer, healthier lives, they can contribute to society well into what we traditionally consider retirement years.

Their contributions can certainly extend to college classrooms, Louis said. He estimates there are more than 100 seniors who regularly take classes at WSU, where Kansas residents 60 and older may audit courses for free.

For her part, Sharon found her class experience valuable. Not only did she have the chance to get to know younger people, but she also found much of the course content valuable and applicable to her own life.

And validating, too.

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Community Matters 316-942-7456 ◆ Fax: 316-941-3806 4700 W. 13th St. Wichita, KS 67212-5575 WichitaPresbyterianManor.org

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is published monthly for residents and friends of Wichita Presbyterian Manor

by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

To submit or suggest articles: awatson@PMMA.org Amy Watson, life enrichment dir.

Jenna Beilman, executive director Lisa Fetter, marketing director Cherree Hudspeth, health care sales and marketing

OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

COMMUNITY MATTERS | January 2023

Presbyterian Manor welcomes Niccole Chapman In November, Niccole Chapman joined the leadership team at Wichita Presbyterian Manor as the director of nursing.

Niccole Chapman

Niccole, who goes by Nicci, has been a registered nurse since 2014. She holds an associate’s degree in nursing as well as certifications in wound care and infection prevention.

Most recently, Nicci served as the director of nursing at LakePoint Wichita. However, she has held nearly every nursing position imaginable, working her way up from a certified nursing assistant to a certified medical assistant to a licensed practical nurse before earning her RN. She has worked as a quality measures nurse and a unit manager.

Outside of work, Nicci enjoys singing karaoke, spending time with her five nieces and nephews, and going to movies and concerts. She also gets plenty of exercise running after her three dogs. u

Welcome – continued from page 1 describes it as a groundbreaking program funded by a federal law-enforcement grant.

“Our job was to settle it the first time, and if we needed two or three hours, that was OK,” he said.

One interesting fact about Charles: He learned how to play the bagpipes when he was in his 40s and often played funeral and wedding gigs.

That meant surviving the ups and downs of the sometimes-turbulent aircraft industry. The second major downturn in JB’s career coincided with a decline in Nellie’s health, and he decided to retire to be with her during the day.

“I also had a good support group JB Scott The Liles enjoy traveling together and have taken cruises with family and friends and our to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. church,” he said.

Charles said the most important thing is they both have The couple always enjoyed traveling. They took a road trip a sense of humor, the importance of which he learned across 18 states after JB retired from the Air Force. Later, during his law enforcement career. they took a lengthy car trip to the east coast, spending “For anyone in crisis response, humor is their survival tactic,” he said.

JB Scott grew up in Talequah, Oklahoma, but he’s been

three weeks exploring Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. In Washington, D.C., they saw all the sights on a two-day bus tour.

a Wichita resident since the 1980s. That’s when JB and his late wife Nellie moved to Kansas to be closer to her aging mother.

While Nellie was still healthy enough to travel, they enjoyed visiting their daughter in Arkansas, their niece and nephew in Abilene, and Nellie’s sister in San Antonio.

Before that, JB served in the Air Force for 21 years, and he and Nellie moved all over the place: California, Nebraska, Illinois, Alabama, and many other home bases.

They had begun to talk about moving to Presbyterian Manor before Nellie’s death. The couple was married for 54 years.

He held many positions in military. His favorite was when he was based in Guam and working to monitor weather satellites.

JB worked at both Boeing and Cessna, retiring from the latter as a manufacturing engineer.

“She told me not to stay in the house by myself,” said JB. He stayed where he was for a while, but eventually reached out to Lisa Fetter, marketing director for independent living. She walked him through the whole moving process, which JB said went surprisingly quickly.

The best thing? No more yard work, which means no more allergy attacks. u Wichita Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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4700 W. 13th St. Wichita, KS 67212-5575 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Annual Art is Ageless call for entries underway at Wichita Presbyterian Manor Calling all artists age 65 and older. Wichita Presbyterian Manor is now accepting entries for the annual Art is Ageless® juried exhibit and competition at the campus, 4700 W. 13th Street, Wichita, Kan. The exhibit is scheduled for March 3-30, 2023.

opportunities and current events discussions throughout the year.

Entries of artistic works will be accepted from any area artist who is 65 years of age or older to exhibit and/or compete for an opportunity to be featured in the 2024 Art is Ageless calendar.

For Entry forms, other information, or to arrange to drop off artwork contacting Amy Watson at 316-9427456 or awatson@pmma.org. You can also find forms and information online at ArtIsAgeless.org. u

Artists may choose to enter works for exhibit only. For the competition, the artist must have been 65 at the time of creation and have completed the work in the past five years (since January 2018). There are nine categories, as well as designations of amateur or professional. Works to be entered for judging need to be at Presbyterian Manor by 5 p.m. on March 2, 2023.

The Art is Ageless program encourages Presbyterian Manor residents and other area seniors to express their creativity through its annual competition, as well as art classes, musical and dramatic events, educational

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | January 2023

Local competition winners will join winners from 14 other PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America®) communities to be judged at the systemwide level.