Focus on living – continued from page 2


fun things each day, but those activities pale in comparison to things that have eternal value. The discussions that arise out of these questions are so timely and pertinent to what the residents are facing in this season of their lives. What a wonderful opportunity to present the gospel again, to help them understand that we don’t have to hope we get to heaven, to assure them that if they have placed their faith in Jesus, they can know they will be in heaven one day. Regardless of our age, not one of us knows how much more time we have to get our house in order before we are called to our eternal resting place. I’ve heard people say, “Well,


it’s too late for me now, I’ve lived my life and what is done is done — can’t go back to change anything” or “I’ve gotten by all these years without God, He wouldn’t have anything to do with me now.” How sad and how exciting it is to hear those words. Sad because they have missed


out on so many blessings, they have endured life’s hardships alone. Exciting because we have the opportunity to share the Good News again, and more often than not, the words fall upon ears that are eager to hear and accept it. What a day of rejoicing it is when someone accepts Christ for the first time at age 80 or 90! Working, loving and living


here is a wonderful opportunity to see God’s love manifested in the daily routine of living. An ordinary day can be changed into an extraordinary one simply by watching for God and then joining Him in His work. V


Sunny Reflections Life Times


R esident spotlight: Myrtle Ross M


yrtle Annetta Ross was born in Lake Park, Iowa, on


April 5, 1917. Her mother, Carrie May (Brandt) Ross, was a stay-at-home mom who occasionally also cleaned houses for doctors and lawyers. Myrtle’s dad, Joseph Howard Ross, was a telephone company employee until the family moved to Mason City, where he began working for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad. Myrtle’s older brother, Lowell, was in


the Army as a baker. Myrtle says Lowell was a great pie baker. Her younger sister, Althea, married Alvin Horn and moved to Springfield, Ill. Myrtle adored spending time with her nephews and niece, Steve, Wayne and Evelyn. Myrtle attended high school until she was 16. She became very ill, which likely caused her sunken chest and curved back, and after missing so much school, it was just easier to stay at home. Myrtle didn’t have a job outside the


home, but she did babysit for a family and taught Sunday School to children at her church. She also played the piano at the church and did crafts for their summer vacation Bible school. She often helped her mom cook, and she loved to bake and decorate cookies. She became an excellent crafter and seamstress, hobbies she continued throughout her life. Myrtle took frequent bus trips to


Charles City, Iowa, where one of her cousins, Ella, lived with her family. She was around the same age as Myrtle, and the two loved going shopping together. Another cousin who is about the same age is also named Myrtle. She and her husband, Andy, have been to Oberlin to visit Myrtle. Myrtle laughed that during one of Myrtle and Andy’s visits to the center, there were three Myrtles at lunch, including the two cousins and another resident named Myrtle. In the 1970s and 1980s, she was part of a group of four or five women who


Myrtle Ross


would go out to eat regularly. Myrtle says her time with these tight-knit friends was a highlight of her life. Another of Myrtle’s favorite friends was her pet cockatiel named Spike. Spike talked, and Myrtle would take him out of his cage so he could walk on her walker with her. Myrtle has never driven, so she walked everywhere and occasionally took the bus or a taxi to go shopping. When Myrtle was still living in her house in Oberlin, she could walk fairly easily at the grocery store as she pushed the cart around. Myrtle usually needed help walking, but she had a tendency to lean back and would fall over if she just held on to a walker. The grocery cart was heavy enough to keep her up. She liked to take her grocery cart and go downtown to the bank or drugstore. She enjoyed when people stopped and talked to her, and the clerks were always kind. When Myrtle moved to Good


Samaritan Society – Decatur County, she brought her grocery cart with her. Myrtle’s two favorite activities at the center are daily devotions and social hour. V


To see more photos of Myrtle, read more about some of her favorite memories and discover how she’s related to several historical figures, visit the center’s Web site. Go to www.good-sam.com, and type “Myrtle Ross” in the search box at the top.


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January 2008 March 2012


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