“I don’t have to be sure that the house is clean and the lawn is
mowed and the paint has to be on the outside of the house,” says Sibyl Allen, a resident at Buckner Calder Woods in Beaumont. “I don’t have to do all that. I don’t have to pay those taxes for a house.” Nelle Hickerson, a Buckner Villas resident, is inspired and encouraged by the people she’s met in the Austin community. She’s had wonderful experiences and friendships since living here. She and a group of ladies were in the movie Bernie a few years ago because of a connection to Villas, a role she may not have had without moving here.
on the edge of their seats in anticipation of a champion. In a community room, a choir practices for worship the next
day when the space will be filled with faithful worshippers. God’s spirit can be found in Buckner communities throughout the week, but worship services are particularly meaningful for those who find it more convenient to worship on campus. Many residents rarely miss them. In a quiet, solitary moment, a staff member visits with a resident in her room. She’s quieter than she used to be and can’t move as well as she once did. She spends much of her time in her room. Visits like this one from a staff person and from other residents serve as the highlights of her days. “As I listen to people’s stories, it’s just so amazing to me to see people who are maybe sitting there quiet and reserved and their age is apparent but they’ve had such great ministries and great lives and great accomplishments,” says Roger Duck, a retired missionary and Christian counselor who lives at Buckner Parkway Place in Houston. “A lot of people here have been in the oil industry and lived all around the world. God just seems to put on my heart one person or the other to get with them and listen to their story.” By providing a continuum of care, Buckner senior living communities meet people’s needs from independent living through hospice care, including specialized offerings such as memory care for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia and Green House®
“We’re living at a place that we love,” she says. “We just are having the best time. There are so many wonderful people here, and you just keep meeting and talking to people every day that you never would have known otherwise.”
A stroll through any Buckner senior living community reveals people who care for and about each other.
Lively conversations take place in dining areas with friends trading stories like only long-time friends can. Men exchange tales, each trying to top the previous yarn. Women show photographs of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Smiles and laughter fill the area.
Down the hall, a hush falls over a room. It’s the final frame of a Wii bowling tournament – one of many activities at Buckner communities – and the teams are a mere two pins apart. Participants are perched
homes that provide community-oriented home-like care. The programmatic diversity of Buckner senior living communities empowers the ministry to continue the tradition of caring for senior adults at every stage of their lives.
Ben Mazzara, executive director of Calder Woods, knows the needs of residents and families as well as anyone. When his mother was looking into senior living communities, he wanted trusted care from trusted people. Together, they chose Calder Woods. He sees his mother daily. He thinks about her even more often. In between jokes she tells in Italian, he admits that he worries about her. He can’t help it. She’s his mother. He’s comforted knowing that she receives the best possible care by people who care about her. “This is not a job; it’s a ministry,” Mazzara says. “This is doing
God’s work. This is helping people. Families come to you in a time of need. They need help with their mothers and their fathers, their aunts, their uncles, brothers and sisters, and they’re looking to us for assistance.” n
36 Buckner Today • SPRING 2015 ISSUE
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