PERSPECTIVES ON BUCKNER | ALBERT L. REYES Live long and prosper


Leonard Nimoy’s death Feb. 27 sent a shock throughout our culture because, as the famed television character Spock from Star Trek, Nimoy was a cultural icon. For many of us, Spock was always there. The character Nimoy portrayed will be remembered for many quirky traits. His Vulcan personality seemed strange to us. We will remember his “wave,” signified by splitting apart his fingers and raising his hand.


But perhaps the most-remembered trait of Spock is his saying, “Live long and prosper.” It was so connected to the character that Nimoy signed his tweets on Twitter #LLAP. He must have followed his own advice, as Nimoy lived to be 83 and obviously prospered. It has been said that everyone wants to live long, but no one


wants to get old. That would be quite a trick, but the fact is we do age the longer we live. We live in an era when more people are growing older faster than ever before. Who doesn’t want to “live long and prosper?” Is that possible?


It might depend on your definition of being prosperous, but at


Buckner, we believe it is possible to live long and prosper. Our retirement services philosophy of ministry promotes “an active, healthy approach to living, in a faith-based environment, while encouraging personal independence.” We are committed to the ideal that senior living is enriched by fellowship, purpose and active engagement. We do all of this in a continuum of care, meaning we are there for whatever need arises. From the very beginning of Buckner Orphans Home, our founder had a complete view of James 1:27, which calls on Christian followers to “visit orphans and widows in their distress” (NASB). More than 100 years ago, Father Buckner reached out to retired ministers and widows, bringing them to his orphans home campus where he gave them a place to live and employed them to watch over the children, serving as houseparents. In fact, you could make a case that these seniors functioned much like foster parents do today. It was a win-win-win: The children had parents, the seniors had a place to live and security, and Father Buckner met an administrative need for staff.


When the first cottages were built for seniors on the perimeter of the campus, they were state-of-the-art. Buckner himself described them as “neat, modern cottages, just across the public road from


the great buildings occupied by the orphans themselves. They each have a 51-barrel cistern and they are lighted with electricity! Each has a yard and each yard has its young shade trees, peach and plum trees, a small garden, poultry yard and cow barn and the like. Our first residents include a preacher who is 84 and his wife. The cottages are far enough away not to be disturbed by the orphan children, yet the children are near enough to cheer the aged by visits. Why, this new piece to our endeavors is so successful that we are beginning expansion plans before we occupy the existing cottages.” In 1954, Buckner officially opened our first separate senior living community on Samuell Blvd. in Dallas, not far from the children’s home campus. A year later, 60 years ago this year, the second senior community opened in Houston. Today, we operate communities in Houston, Dallas, Beaumont, Longview, Austin, San Angelo, and Burnet, Texas. And like Father Buckner’s cottages, they are state-of-the-art, though none of them have poultry yards, cow barns or 51-barrel cisterns. Like our ministry to vulnerable children and families around the world, our work with seniors is dedicated to service. Our Buckner Retirement Services staff of more than 800 employees serves with humility and yet a strong sense of pride. Every day, these servants put others before themselves.


Our communities attract residents who want to live long and


prosper, and they believe Buckner is the place to do that. This issue of Buckner Today introduces you to some of those people. While none of the stories you will read are about people as famous as Leonard Nimoy, these members of the Buckner family are indeed prosperous. #LLAP


Albert L. Reyes, President and CEO Buckner International Visit my blog at www.bucknerprez.com


4 Buckner Today • SPRING 2015 ISSUE


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44