Wichita Presbyterian Manor
MARCH 2021
Westerly resident spent five decades in libraries Between working in the Wichita school system and volunteering for the Wichita Public Library, Barbara Baker spent nearly 50 years sharing her love of reading and research. Barbara and her husband, Bill, moved into an independent living apartment at the Westerly in January 2019. They had been married 66 years when Bill passed away about a year ago. The Bakers met on a blind date when they were both students at Northwest Missouri State University.
Barbara Baker now and early in her Once their son was in school career (inset). full time, Barbara began working as a substitute for the Wichita public school system. In 1970, she became a librarian at Wichita South High School. The Wichita public schools desegregated in the 1970s. It was a chaotic time, and sometimes student fights were so bad that police were called and they had to lock the doors of the library. Barbara said things calmed down once a group of mothers began monitoring the hallways. She also credits school leadership for successfully navigating through a challenging time in history. “I think it worked out pretty well,” she said, “but thank goodness it’s over.” From her position in the library, Barbara got to know all the students at South. She particularly enjoyed helping juniors find materials for their research papers. LIBRARIAN – continued on page 5
Art is Ageless® exhibit, reception features senior and local artists Local senior artists will be celebrated March 15 through 31 at Wichita Presbyterian Manor, 4700 W. 13th Street, as the community hosts its annual Art is Ageless® exhibit and continues to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Art is Ageless® program.
Works will be on exhibit at the community for residents only. The Art is Ageless exhibit will be held virtually for friends of the program on the community’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/ WichitaPresbyterianManor. Winners will be announced at 2 p.m. March 31 on Facebook Live. Art is Ageless is a trademarked program of PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America). The program offers senior artists the opportunity to share and display their artwork and reaffirms the agelessness of human creativity. “It’s inspiring to see the beautiful pieces these seniors have created,” said Amy Watson, life enrichment director. “The joy it brings to them and others is wonderful, and that’s something we want to celebrate and ART - continued on page 6
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Meet new Westwinds resident Norval Madden Norval Madden joined the independent living community at the Westwinds last October.
When she was in her late fifties, doctors at the Mayo Clinic diagnosed Melba with ALS, and Norval was her caregiver during the last years of her life. After her death, he spent 10 days on retreat at a Trappist monastery.
Born in 1931, Norval has lived in Wichita his whole life, with the exception of two years in the Army after he graduated from the University of Wichita. He’d planned to be a teacher, but worked at Boeing for the first decade of his career.
Although he is Protestant, Norval says he may have joined a monastic order had his life worked out differently.
Norval took evening classes at Wichita State and earned a master’s in education while he worked in Boeing’s industrial engineering department.
The Trappist monks adhere to a strict lifestyle, which includes maintaining silence at most times, including meals.
He took a 40-percent pay cut to pursue teaching.
Founded in 1848, the Abbey of Gethsemani is the oldest monastery still operating in the United States.
After five years instructing and supervising student teachers at the college level, Norval taught history at Mayberry Middle School before going into administration.
“It is difficult for me to sit across from someone and not converse, so I started sitting by the windows where I could look out over the landscape,” Norval said.
When he was in his mid-forties, he took a sabbatical in order to complete a doctorate at the University of Kansas. At the time, Norval’s first wife, Melba, and their two sons were also in college, so finances were tight. To save money, Norval lived in a freshman dorm. He soon regretted this decision, as his dormmates could be quite
Norval Madden in his Westwinds apartment. Norval and his wife Joyce will celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary in October, and Norval has enjoyed meeting his new neighbors in the meantime. noisy. Sometimes Norval gave up and schooled the other students at ping pong, where he remained undefeated. Other times, he sought refuge in Watson Library or curled up in the back of his station wagon.
He and his second wife, Joyce, have been married for 15 years. Coincidentally, Joyce and Melba were friends at East High, and they both had careers as school nurses. Norval has been busy settling into his new life at Wichita Presbyterian Manor. “There’s a great bunch of people here that I really enjoy,” he said. “And the food is really exceptional.” ◆
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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. Courtney Wolfe, executive director Stephanie Bergmann, marketing dir. Cherree Hudspeth, health care sales and marketing
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
Celebrating Kansas by car: Wilmore By Stephanie Bergmann, independent living sales and marketing director
Ernie Griffin has wanted a carousel since he was kid—not just to ride on a carousel, but to own it! At age 70, Ernie finally got his wish when he and his wife, Christy, bought a used carousel from a mall. With the help of their neighbors, they re-assembled it right outside their home in Wilmore, Kan. Now, Ernie and Christy share their musical merry-go-round with others. When the couple is home, friends and strangers are welcome to stop and take a spin. They’ve even put a horn nearby with a sign that reads, “Honk to Ride.” When he hears that sound, Ernie cranks up the lights and music and sets his painted
Independent Living Sales and Marketing Director Stephanie Bergmann with Christy Griffin, who along with her husband Ernie, owns a working carousel in Wilmore, Kansas. ponies and teacups spinning. People often try to pay the Griffins, but they refuse. A smile, they say, is
payment enough. Christy admits she used to think Ernie’s carousel enthusiasm was crazy, but now, especially during a pandemic, she believes something this festive is needed more than ever. Before each ride, she sanitizes the seats and asks visitors to wear their masks. They climb aboard, and for a few minutes, life almost seems normal. The Griffins also love to share the story of their historic house. Back in 1913, it was ordered from a Sears catalog for $823. Everything from the wood and nails to paint and shingles came in boxes, and the buyer put it together. Inside the home, you can still see the original wood floor and stairs. Another must-see stop in Wilmore is a mural painted on a grain
Christy and Ernie Griffin, standing at the end of a yellow brick road that leads to their working carousel.
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elevator by artist Stan Herd. It depicts the coin toss between two ranchers that decided the town would be named after Thomas Jackson Wilmore. Located just off Highway 160 in southern Kansas, Wilmore is a two-hour drive from Wichita. The Griffins recommend calling first to make sure they are home. And, if they’re not home, prospective visitors are always welcome to leave a message at 620-738-4420. ◆ Above: The Sears Roebuck catalog used to sell everything—including houses. The Griffins have a framed advertisement for the “modern home No. 167,” as well as a book about the “homes in a box.” Right: Ernie Griffin stands in front of his 1913 home, which was built from a kit purchased for $823.
COVID-19 updates continue
Get the latest updates on visitation status, ongoing safety measures and PMMA’s response to COVID-19 on your community website at WichitaPresbyterianManor.org/ covid-19. Visitation status is updated weekly on Mondays and as needed as our COVID status changes. You can also send a message to any resident with the Art is Ageless® e-greeting cards. Find a link on the COVID-19 update page. Vaccine distribution has begun in our community. Every person who receives the vaccine will strengthen the protection for all residents, staff and the community at-large. PMMA strongly encourages our families, employees and residents to carefully consider obtaining a vaccine for themselves as well as their loved ones. ◆
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How to reclaim your independence after a health crisis By Jonathan Su for Next Avenue
Delores Godbold, who turned 90 in May and is a patient of mine, has an important message for older adults experiencing weakness and fatigue after a hospitalization or health crisis: Get moving and start exercising immediately to rebuild your strength and reclaim your life. In March, two months before her 90th birthday, she was hospitalized for four days as a result of a serious urinary tract infection. “I had chills, I was trembling and I had a temperature of 103.5. I didn’t know if this was coronavirus. It was the worst I’ve ever felt,” says Godbold, a retired speech therapist who lives in Oakland, Calif. Before that, Godbold went to the gym three times a week. After the hospital: feeling weak and fatigued “I’ve been going there for more than 25 years; it was my second home,” says Godbold. “I’ve been active all my life and I was in pretty good shape.” But the health crisis quickly and dramatically altered Godbold’s strength and function. She came home from the hospital feeling a level of weakness and fatigue she had never experienced. “My strength left me,” says Godbold. “I couldn’t make it from the bed to the toilet in the hospital. When they put me on that walker, I’ll never forget it. That was a disturbing part of my life.”
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“It kept us busy,” she said. “We didn’t just have to put books away; we got to work closely with the students.” In 1978, Barbara was asked to help set up the library at Northwest High School, which was just opening. By the end of her career in the mid 90s, the library had incorporated computers, which meant learning new technology.
For nearly two months after her hospitalization, Godbold attempted to get back to normal, but daily walks didn’t seem to help her condition. How a hospital stay weakens muscles
Muscle loss is medically referred to as sarcopenia, a term derived from the Latin words “sarco” for muscle and “penia” for wasting. The prevalence of sarcopenia in 60-to-70-year-olds is as high as 13 percent, while it can be as high as 50 percent in people over 80. The biggest risk factors for sarcopenia include age and level of physical activity. After 50, we start to lose 1 to 2 percent of our muscles every year if we don’t take steps to prevent it. Recovery from injury and illness can mean enforced periods of muscle disuse. Even short periods of disuse can contribute to rapid muscle loss and negative health consequences such as frailty, decreased function and falls. Don’t resist resistance training Resistance training appears to be most effective in fighting against the loss of muscle mass, strength and function in hospitalized older adults. A study carried out on 128 hospitalized patients over 65 demonstrated that resistance exercise continuing for 24 weeks after discharge resulted in significantly fewer hospital readmissions and doctor visits as well HEALTH - continued on page 6
After retirement, Barbara used that experience in the genealogy department at the Wichita Public Library, where she volunteered for 25 years. She has been able to trace her own ancestry back to English citizens who moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1632, then moved north, then westward. For a lifelong reader, working in libraries was a good match. “I always read probably more than I should have,” Barbara laughed.
“I read when I should have been doing other things because I enjoyed it so much.” She passed that love down to her son, to whom she read beginning when he was very small. Now he is a published author of more than 30 short stories. Barbara still enjoys reading, particularly nonfiction. A recent book she recommends is Isabel Wilkerson’s book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.”
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4700 W. 13th St. Wichita, KS 67212-5575 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
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share with the entire Wichita community.”
as greater improvements in quality of life. Godbold did not receive in-home rehabilitation immediately after her hospital discharge in March because of the pandemic.
The first Art is Ageless calendar was published in 1981, featuring art from Presbyterian Manor community residents. Since then, the program has expanded to include a juried art competition open to all seniors age 65 and older. Winning pieces at the community level move on to a masterpiece level judging to determine which pieces are featured in the annual calendar and note cards. For more information about Art is Ageless, visit ArtIsAgeless.org or contact Amy Watson at 316-942-7456 or awatson@pmma.org. For more about Wichita Presbyterian Manor, visit WichitaPresbyterianManor.org or contact Stephanie Bergmann at 316-942-7456 or sbergmann@pmma.org. ◆
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In early May, I made my first in-home physical therapy visit with her. At that time, she was still using a walker and was unable to get upstairs to her second-floor bedroom. What worked wonders for her was exercise instruction twice a week focusing on her lower body strength, followed by daily practice over several weeks. In four weeks, Godbold was walking up the stairs on her own. In eight weeks, she was feeling stronger than even before the hospitalization. She continues to perform the exercises each week. “I’ve been doing them about once to twice a week. As long as I exercise, I feel good,” says Godbold. “If I lay off the exercise, I don’t feel good. I feel tired, I feel like my body is going off kilter. I have to have my exercise.” ◆
PEOPLE GIVING TO PEOPLE
An update on how gifts are changing lives in PMMA communities
IN HER LIFETIME A donor's story
Recently, a longtime friend of PMMA, we’ll call her Agnes, was concerned about burdening her sister with financial decisions and responsibilities when she passes. In order to eliminate the burden for her sister, Agnes wanted to get all of her affairs in order now, but also wanted to accomplish her wishes of helping others. After sharing her thoughts with her advisor and visiting with PMMA’s regional development director, Patti Christen, Agnes was able to spare her sister the task and put her gift to work now.
Agnes made a gift from her donor advised fund for the benefit of the Good Samaritan Program - a program she has supported and appreciated for more than 30 years. She wanted to see the gift in action while she was living. Thanks to Agnes, so many residents have the assurance of the PMMA mission of quality senior services guided by Christian values.
“I’m so thankful for the blessings I have received in my lifetime. It’s my obligation to share it with others. And, I’m so glad my sister doesn’t have to worry about this when I die,” said Agnes, 84. (not her real name to ensure her anonymity)
Spring 2021
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BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE by Barbara J. Braa, CTFA, MBA
“It is better to give than to receive.” Why does this old saying still ring true? Isn’t it because the gift giver takes pleasure in seeing their gift in action? That pleasure may cause a donor to give too much. Sometimes donors give too little, cheating themselves out of the pleasure of giving because they fear running out of money and don’t know their true capacity to give or their giving options.
In the old days, frugal folks made gifts from items at hand, like a quilt from fabric scraps or a dress from flour sacks. Today, a knowledgeable, trusted advisor can help you develop a gift giving budget and help you explore alternative methods for your charitable giving. You may find your ability to give during life may be more than you think! Barbara J. Braa, CTFA, MBA
If you were taught to never touch your invested assets you may be surprised to learn there are strategies to help maximize your donations by using those investments. For example, a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) is a tax-advantaged way for those over 70
½ to
donate IRA dollars directly to charity and avoid taxation on the IRA withdrawal. Or, you might benefit from donating appreciated non-retirement assets, like stocks and mutual funds and when you transfer those assets directly to a charity, neither you nor the charity pay capital gains taxes on the appreciation.
Seeking advice on a charitable budget and/or utilizing one of the strategies above may help you increase your gift giving ability and your pleasure in seeing your donations in action. Plus, if you budget your donations correctly, you won’t need to revert to giving or wearing a flour sack dress or shirt!
The information in this article is not presented as personal financial or legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for obtaining advice specific to your situation. Please seek advice from a trusted financial, tax or legal advisor. Barbara J. Braa, CTFA, MBA is a Vice President & Relationship Officer with Central Trust Company in Lawrence, Kansas. Contact Barbara at 785-865-1065 or Barbara.Braa@centralbank.net.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: 316-685-1100
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