games to play, everything you want. I get along with everybody here,” he says. “Even my wife.”

Josephine Ryley sums Allen Gray up beautifully. “I walked in, and that was it,” she says. “Comfortable, nice and clean. I love pretty well everything. Entertainment, there’s lots of that. People come in all the time to sing or play. I especially like the Police Band.”

As my time visiting with this delightful group comes to a close, Hester reminds Josephine of a promise to make cabbage rolls for them some day soon, adding slyly, “I know where you live.”

The warm laughter shared by these happy residents would have made the women of the Allen Gray Guild proud.

On a chilly autumn evening in 1952, nine ambitious women dedicated to the cause of building a facility for the care of elderly women in our city, convened at the

house of Mrs. Francis Winspear to make the pursuit of their common goal official. On that night, they formed the Gray House Guild, named after Edmonton’s first Anglican Bishop and well-loved humanitarian, Henry Allen Gray.

It took a full 10 years of bake sales, fundraising teas and even the creation of a cookbook with recipes from Mrs. Winspear herself for these enterprising ladies to raise enough money to begin construction of the Allen Gray Auxiliary Hospital on a parcel of city-donated land. The donated land is on the banks of the Mill Creek Ravine.

Fifty years later, as the waiting list for residency continued to grow, the decision was made to build a much larger version of the facility on its current location.

The newly named Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre illus-trates that many things do indeed get better with age. It’s an

impressive place. Clean and spacious, the facility’s capacity has more than doubled, growing from a mere 50 beds to 136 with an additional 15 lodge suites.

As I tour the building, I have to keep reminding myself that I’m in a care facility. Every effort has been made to maintain the original Guild’s vision of a “friendly, home-like feeling.” In ad-dition to the birds and fish that also call the centre home, each floor has its own resident cat, although Casper has been known to slip into an elevator and travel down a floor to steal some of Misty’s food on occasion.

“We try to make it a community here,” says Clara Ambard, Allen Gray’s CEO of nearly 25 years, “and we have. Our goal is to integrate, not segregate.”

Adding to the friendly air is the brilliant inclusion of a daycare right in the heart of Allen Gray. “It started as a place for children of the staff, but now the community uses it, too,” Ambard says. “At first some of the little ones were afraid of the residents, but now they’ve got lots of grandmas and grandpas.”

At the end of my walkabout, a group of residents kindly took the time to visit with me.

“I’ve had the pleasure of living here for nine years,” says Hes-ter Hubbell, who’s known affectionately as ‘the ticket lady’ for her ability to sell just about anything to anyone, a nickname she’s earned as head of the fundraising committee. “I love it here. It’s like a 5-star hotel, that’s how I describe it. We’re human beings, not numbers. We come first.”

Raymond Zenon Joly couldn’t agree more. “I love the peo-ple, staff and residents,” he says. “It’s very spacious. You can be quiet by yourself, or if you want to be busy with people, you can do that, too.”

Stan Garrett, a former transit and tour bus driver, likes that he can keep busy. “There are lots of places to go, lots of things to do,

5005 – 28 Avenue N.W. Edmonton, Alberta T6L 7G1

Ph: (780) 469-2371 • Fax: (780) 465-2073allengray.ab.ca

Allen Gray Creates Active Living Space for Senior Residents by Mark Kandborg

50th Anniversary

Marlene McMahon, HR Mngr.; Clara Ambard, C.E.O.; Sylvia Zurch, Receptionist; Charlotte McFadden, Director of Care.

Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre | 50 years Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre | 50 years

As Alberta’s largest benefits carrier, Alberta Blue Cross provides supplementary benefits to meet the needs

of over 1.6 million Albertans. Our group benefit plans deliver the benefits that employees prefer, and the

value that employers need.

Discover the Alberta Blue Cross advantage for your company.

Contact us today for your confidential no-obligation quote.

Alberta Blue Cross Business in Edmonton, Allen Gray 50th AnniversaryFULL COLOUR - 6.875” x 3.0825” APRIL

Edmonton 780-498-8500 Toll-free 1-866-513-2555

www.ab.bluecross.ca/group

Alberta Blue Cross is pleased to be

the group benefit carrier of choice

for Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre. We share your commitment to supporting the

health of Albertans through all stages

of life.

Prescription Drugs • Dental • Extended Health • Vision • Travel Coverage • Critical Illness • Health Spending Accounts Life and Disability • Employee and Family Assistance Program

ABC

830

98 2

013/

01

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

KING&cOMPANY

1201 Energy Square 10109 - 106 Street, NW Edmonton, AB T5J 3L7

T: (780) 423-2437 F: (780) 426-5861 E: www.kingco.ca

Happy 50th Anniversary Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre!

We are proud to be a part of it.Golden Years

Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre celebrates 50 years in business.

From one Alberta business to another—and a proud partner for over 25 years—congratulations on this milestone.

Let us help with your business banking needs. Visit atb.com/business

Ray Joly, Josephine Ryley, Hester Hubbell and Stan Garrett.

www.shoppershomehealthcare.ca

Congratulations Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre

on 50 years!

games to play, everything you want. I get along with everybody here,” he says. “Even my wife.”

Josephine Ryley sums Allen Gray up beautifully. “I walked in, and that was it,” she says. “Comfortable, nice and clean. I love pretty well everything. Entertainment, there’s lots of that. People come in all the time to sing or play. I especially like the Police Band.”

As my time visiting with this delightful group comes to a close, Hester reminds Josephine of a promise to make cabbage rolls for them some day soon, adding slyly, “I know where you live.”

The warm laughter shared by these happy residents would have made the women of the Allen Gray Guild proud.

On a chilly autumn evening in 1952, nine ambitious women dedicated to the cause of building a facility for the care of elderly women in our city, convened at the

house of Mrs. Francis Winspear to make the pursuit of their common goal official. On that night, they formed the Gray House Guild, named after Edmonton’s first Anglican Bishop and well-loved humanitarian, Henry Allen Gray.

It took a full 10 years of bake sales, fundraising teas and even the creation of a cookbook with recipes from Mrs. Winspear herself for these enterprising ladies to raise enough money to begin construction of the Allen Gray Auxiliary Hospital on a parcel of city-donated land. The donated land is on the banks of the Mill Creek Ravine.

Fifty years later, as the waiting list for residency continued to grow, the decision was made to build a much larger version of the facility on its current location.

The newly named Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre illus-trates that many things do indeed get better with age. It’s an

impressive place. Clean and spacious, the facility’s capacity has more than doubled, growing from a mere 50 beds to 136 with an additional 15 lodge suites.

As I tour the building, I have to keep reminding myself that I’m in a care facility. Every effort has been made to maintain the original Guild’s vision of a “friendly, home-like feeling.” In ad-dition to the birds and fish that also call the centre home, each floor has its own resident cat, although Casper has been known to slip into an elevator and travel down a floor to steal some of Misty’s food on occasion.

“We try to make it a community here,” says Clara Ambard, Allen Gray’s CEO of nearly 25 years, “and we have. Our goal is to integrate, not segregate.”

Adding to the friendly air is the brilliant inclusion of a daycare right in the heart of Allen Gray. “It started as a place for children of the staff, but now the community uses it, too,” Ambard says. “At first some of the little ones were afraid of the residents, but now they’ve got lots of grandmas and grandpas.”

At the end of my walkabout, a group of residents kindly took the time to visit with me.

“I’ve had the pleasure of living here for nine years,” says Hes-ter Hubbell, who’s known affectionately as ‘the ticket lady’ for her ability to sell just about anything to anyone, a nickname she’s earned as head of the fundraising committee. “I love it here. It’s like a 5-star hotel, that’s how I describe it. We’re human beings, not numbers. We come first.”

Raymond Zenon Joly couldn’t agree more. “I love the peo-ple, staff and residents,” he says. “It’s very spacious. You can be quiet by yourself, or if you want to be busy with people, you can do that, too.”

Stan Garrett, a former transit and tour bus driver, likes that he can keep busy. “There are lots of places to go, lots of things to do,

5005 – 28 Avenue N.W. Edmonton, Alberta T6L 7G1

Ph: (780) 469-2371 • Fax: (780) 465-2073allengray.ab.ca

Allen Gray Creates Active Living Space for Senior Residents by Mark Kandborg

50th Anniversary

Marlene McMahon, HR Mngr.; Clara Ambard, C.E.O.; Sylvia Zurch, Receptionist; Charlotte McFadden, Director of Care.

Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre | 50 years Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre | 50 years

As Alberta’s largest benefits carrier, Alberta Blue Cross provides supplementary benefits to meet the needs

of over 1.6 million Albertans. Our group benefit plans deliver the benefits that employees prefer, and the

value that employers need.

Discover the Alberta Blue Cross advantage for your company.

Contact us today for your confidential no-obligation quote.

Alberta Blue Cross Business in Edmonton, Allen Gray 50th AnniversaryFULL COLOUR - 6.875” x 3.0825” APRIL

Edmonton 780-498-8500 Toll-free 1-866-513-2555

www.ab.bluecross.ca/group

Alberta Blue Cross is pleased to be

the group benefit carrier of choice

for Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre. We share your commitment to supporting the

health of Albertans through all stages

of life.

Prescription Drugs • Dental • Extended Health • Vision • Travel Coverage • Critical Illness • Health Spending Accounts Life and Disability • Employee and Family Assistance Program

ABC

830

98 2

013/

01

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

KING&cOMPANY

1201 Energy Square 10109 - 106 Street, NW Edmonton, AB T5J 3L7

T: (780) 423-2437 F: (780) 426-5861 E: www.kingco.ca

Happy 50th Anniversary Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre!

We are proud to be a part of it.Golden Years

Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre celebrates 50 years in business.

From one Alberta business to another—and a proud partner for over 25 years—congratulations on this milestone.

Let us help with your business banking needs. Visit atb.com/business

Ray Joly, Josephine Ryley, Hester Hubbell and Stan Garrett.

www.shoppershomehealthcare.ca

Congratulations Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre

on 50 years!