Reaching Outto friends of Royal Oaks

SPRING 2017

23 floor plans…so little time! On April 13, more than 150 west valley residents entered our gated community to take a self-tour of the 23 floor plans Royal Oaks offers in Independent Living. The first Parade of Homes featured beautifully furnished apartments and garden homes ranging from 1,900 sq. ft. to 650 sq. ft.

“Our residents are eager to show off their décor and happy to open their homes so that future residents can envision living on our campus,” explained Marketing Director Vicki Ullery. “We fully encourage personalization of each residence and have a Design Center onsite so incoming residents can go to town and make their home here just as they desire.”

“One of the misconceptions of Royal Oaks is that there is an extremely long wait list,” continued Vicki.

“Many of our large floor plans have a long wait list because there are only a few of them, but I would estimate that the floor plans in the 650 sq. ft. to 1,200 sq. ft. have a wait list of about six months because we have quite a few of them. And around this time of year, we seem to have a few apartments that are immediately available.” If you are interested in taking a tour and seeing a variety of floor plans, including the homes/apartments ready for quick move-in, call (623) 815-4132. And be sure to download Royal Oaks: Fact or Fiction, a free special report available at www.RoyalOaks.com. Click on “special reports” on the home page.

(continued on page 2)

10015 West Royal Oak RoadSun City, AZ 85351

(623) 815-4132www.RoyalOaks.com

“I thought the tour was fantastic. It was helpful to see floor plans I hadn’t considered, if for no other reason than to confirm my choice. I also appreciated a chance to see how two different residents chose to arrange their own furniture in the same floor plan. And, the residents couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful.”

—Jan Parade of Homes attendee

23 floor plans…so little time! (continued from page 1)

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As a Life Plan Community/CCRC, Royal Oaks has 360 independent living apartments and homes, and four levels of care beyond independent living, including memory care and nursing care. The 40-acre campus has been the desired retirement community in Sun City for more than 30 years. Visit www.RoyalOaks.com to see photos and learn more.

If you would like to be added to the guest list for the next Parade of Homes, send an email to marketing@royaloaks.com and request addition to the Parade of Homes mailing list.

Royal Oaks CEO Receives Prestigious Award

Leading Age Arizona has awarded Kendra Eberhart with the 2017 Award of Honor. She will be recognized at the June Leading Age Arizona conference. Nominated by her staff, Kendra just celebrated 30 years at the Sun City retirement community. Here are excerpts of her nomination submitted to Leading Age:

Kendra began her career at Royal Oaks as the Human Resources Director. She quickly moved up to Assistant to the Executive Director and was named CEO in 1996. Kendra is the backbone of our organization. Over the years, Kendra has guided Royal Oaks through countless renovations and expansions. During her tenure as CEO, we have added two Assisted Living buildings, a Life Enrichment Center including a 300-seat auditorium, several new dining venues, new administrative offices, an expanded front lobby, a state-of-the-art fitness center, new indoor

and outdoor pools, and acquired additional land for future expansion. All of this was accomplished while achieving and maintaining a Fitch “A” rating

for financial stability and excellence. Every part of Royal Oaks has been, and continues to be, renovated to ensure the campus looks fresh, new and appealing for current and future residents.

Kendra served eight years on the Leading Age Arizona Board of Directors, and was Chairman for her final two years on that Board. She gives of her time and talents to the outside community as well through involvement in a number of philanthropic endeavors. Our Vision

Statement is: Inspiring Passion. Connecting People. Kendra is our best “connector” and she does it with style and flair. Royal Oaks’ tagline is: Engaging – Inspired – Vibrant. Those words pretty well sum up Kendra Eberhart.

Kendra enjoys the annual employee holiday breakfast when service awards are presented. She is on the left with Brian Cornelius, head of Security, who received a 10-year award, and Board of Trustees Chair Carol Bryan.

Marketing Director and ReMax Realtor Jim Schram served as greeters during the event.

Ginger Pinneke shows off her Cedar apartment to a visitor.

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Volunteer extraordinaire Ken Pierick has received the Volunteer of the Year Award from Leading Age Arizona. Read this excerpt of his nomination by the management team:

Royal Oaks Resident Ken Pierick has perfect hearing…and yet he has become the champion of the hearing impaired at Royal

Oaks. “Ken changed my life. I’ve been deaf in one ear since WWII,” said resident Walter Oleszkowicz, “and the hearing in my other ear has gotten just as bad over the years. I was avoiding

all the wonderful entertainment and informative classes we have in the

auditorium because I couldn’t hear the presenters due to my hearing loss. Thanks to Ken, I’ve got my life back.”

Hearing aids are limited in their use when background noise is an issue. Ken started the Auditorium Hearing Assistance Program, installing FM transmitters in our auditorium that work with wireless headsets, allowing residents to fully participate in music programs, lectures, and discussion

Royal Oaks Resident Ken Pierick named Volunteer of the Year

When one door opens, another doorbell ringsJane Higgs and Gary Sherman are proof that love exists in a second chapter.

Sarah “Jane” Higgs is an accomplished singer and well-known choir director in the west valley. Many west valley-ites will recognize her from the Encores, All Star Jazz Band, and the Wolfpack Band. For the past 17 years, she has been the choir director at the Congregational Church of Sun City. She also is the Director of the Sun City Women’s Chorus. With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music, she has followed her heart in her career and also in her life.

Gary Sherman is a retired school administrator who spent 18 years as a snowbird before meeting Jane. He entered her life after hearing her perform at Happy Trails while she was singing with the Wolfpack Band. A music enthusiast and sax player, he introduced himself to her after a concert one evening and told her how much he admired her voice.

Fast forward two years later and Jane and Gary have now both lost spouses after long illnesses. He invited her out for coffee in March of 2014 and they spent hours at Paradise Bakery

swapping stories and discovering how much they had in common. “She actually brought me a casserole after that first date!” laughed Gary. “I knew about losing a spouse and wanted to offer a hug instead of a handshake,” said Jane. A nice friendship was started.

Snowbird Gary returned to Washington later that spring and his life resumed up north while Jane continued to be immersed in her singing, directing, and other hobbies. In the fall, she picked up her phone and sent Gary an email, asking him if he intended to return to Arizona for the season.

And the rest is history. In March 2015, 350 close friends attended their wedding and then the newlyweds

headed to a river cruise on the Danube. The past two years have been a whirlwind of travel, singing, friends, and in the spring of 2017, moving into Royal Oaks. They chose the Acacia garden home and are still finding a space for all their joint “things.”

“We bought an RV last year and have spent one night in it—in our driveway to try it out.” laughed Jane. “We do intend to see some of the country together. And Gary has joined my church choir so we’ll share a love of singing.”

In the meantime, they will blend their families—each have a son and daughter and several grandchildren, and will make beautiful music together.

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Gary and Jane were on our Club Connect program (wait list) for about nine months before moving into Royal Oaks. Their many friends who live here, mostly band and singing colleagues, persuaded them to join the good life at Royal Oaks and leave home maintenance behind. If you’d like to know more about Club Connect, visit www.RoyalOaks.com or call (623) 815-4132.

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Dancing makes her Happy and so does Eric A new resident couple was all the talk at the Valentine’s Day dance on campus: “Did you see that smartly dressed couple gracing the dance floor?” “They dance beautifully.” “What moves they have!” “How much fun they were having!”

It seems to be easy to have fun when your name is Happy! Eric Kline and Happy Kelly moved into Royal Oaks in early 2017 as life partners. “We wanted to unburden ourselves from the chores of separate stand-a-lone homes and to have the future benefit of convenient long-term-care services,” explained Eric. “We can now concentrate on having fun and enjoying our hobbies and travel, rather than worrying about home maintenance. And we feel we are thriving as a result.”

Happy was born and raised on a farm/ranch in a family of 11 children in Idaho, and went to college at Montana State. She graduated as an RN, served four years as an Army nurse, was a flight attendant for a short time, married, and spent a hospital nursing career in San Francisco, eventually retiring to Lake Tahoe and Palm Springs. She

and her late husband relocated to Sun City Festival in 2009. Throughout their lives, they travelled extensively and their family remained just the two of them; he passed away in 2010.

Eric was born and raised in Indiana and graduated from Purdue as a controls engineer. He served two years in the Navy and his career in his field settled him into Cincinnati. He first retired to South Carolina before relocating to Sun City Festival in 2007. His two sons live on the east coast.

On a glorious day in 2013, Happy and Eric met line dancing at Festival. “I hadn’t danced in 30 years,” laughed Eric, “but I was a basketball and tennis player and that athleticism helped me with the challenge of ballroom dancing.” Happy’s many years spent on the ski slopes and as a swimmer showcases her coordination, grace,

and elegance on the dance floor. They travel around the west valley, spending several nights a week

on the dance floors at the various social clubs. A joint love of snorkeling has

resulted in three cruises in the past three years, helping Happy and Eric develop this common interest even

further, although it’s time spent above the water dancing that is their real passion.

Happy’s real name is a closely guarded secret. “Sometime in

my early years, someone named me after my disposition,” smiled

Happy, “and I’ve been called that ever since.” An avid international traveler, Happy has been to six continents (Antarctica is still to be tackled), and said she loved hiking in Nepal and bicycling from Munich to Vienna. This summer, she heads on a tent safari to Africa with Overseas Adventure Travel.

While she’s gone, Eric will watch Dancing with the Stars and perfect his dance moves to make Happy… well, happy.

groups, regardless of their hearing deficits. He held numerous workshops for residents to explain the system and then worked one-on-one for those who were unable to attend the workshops. He assembled a volunteer team responsible for checking out the receivers during auditorium programs, and created a contract for residents to sign who wanted to keep the receivers long-term. He sets up shop monthly to be

the battery-tester guy, to ensure the receivers continue to work and provide enjoyment to residents who otherwise could not hear the programs. He’s now taking this Hearing Assistance Program to our Chapel and other parts of the campus.

In addition, Ken manages and plays clarinet in two music groups on campus: The Royalaires and

Take Note. Each month, those groups play in all the Assisted Living Centers and also entertain in the main lobby for independent residents, often drawing a standing-room only crowd.

Ken is in good company. Last year, Dick Herrmann from Royal Oaks won the Volunteer of the Year award. We are so fortunate to have such philanthropic residents.

Ken Pierick (continued from page 3)

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This nurse has a desire to help people… and a craving for clam chowder

THE WEST SIDE TREMBLE CLEFS, pictured here while performing at Royal Oaks, are affiliated with the Mohammad Ali Parkinson Center. The Center provided funding to Sun Joo Lee in 2008 with five members; today, there are 75 active members. Anyone with Parkinson’s Disease and their spouses or caregivers are invited to join and sing. Those interested in membership or contributing may contact Beth Lee at (623) 433-9477 or Sun Joo Lee at (480) 274-3206. Visitors are welcome at the practice session, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Shepherd of the Desert Lutheran Church, 11025 N 111th Ave, Sun City.

Royal Oaks’ Director of Nursing from 1990–96, Anne Miller, RN is now an energetic Royal Oaks resident, living with husband Jim in a personalized

Mesquite independent living apartment, volunteering and dashing through the halls, always with a purpose. “Royal Oaks has grown, renovated, and necessarily changed with the times, but the one constant has been the high level of care residents receive when needed,” said Anne. “Jim and I always knew we’d move here when the time was right.”

Anne is a member of the Learning Tree’s Health and Wellness Committee. She recently spearheaded bringing the Tremble Clefs, a nationwide singing program for people with Parkinson’s disease and their partners, to perform on campus (see below). “Participation in a Tremble Clefs singing program can help address voice and communication problems through

breathing, stretching and posture activities, vocal exercise, rhythm and movement, and a strong social support system. But mostly it is a lot of fun and you don’t have to be musically inclined to participate,” said Anne. After seeing the Tremble Clefs perform in our auditorium, three residents with Parkinson’s signed up to join the group.

Anne’s nursing career primarily was in cardiac care. In 1996, she semi-retired from Royal Oaks and became a parish nurse, where the flexibility allowed the Millers to spend summers in Show Low. “That’s why we have so many Show Low residents here now,” laughed Anne.

But once a nurse, always a nurse and Anne’s dedication to the field keeps her active and involved. She is keen on keeping residents well and preventing disease through education so she joined the Health and Wellness Committee. That group has arranged for Claudia Rumwell, another RN resident and expert in vascular care, to do a November Learning Tree course

on vascular technology. In January, Right Path Screenings will be on campus to conduct preventive health care screening services. And then in April, experts in glaucoma and macular degeneration will be here to embark their wisdom on our residents and guests. Members of Royal Oaks Club Connect program are also invited to attend any of these educational sessions. To find out about Club Connect, visit www.RoyalOaks.com or call (623) 815-4132.

A native of New Hampshire, Anne moved to Arizona in 1988. She co-chairs the New England Club on our campus, spurring 19 of them (the Club has 24 members) to Taylor’s Chowder House recently, where they indulged in clam chowder and reminisced about favorite foods and haunts.

From nurse employee to nurse educator and resident extraordinaire—that’s Anne Miller and we are so fortunate to have her watchful eye on residents.

People of Faith, Inc.10015 West Royal Oak RoadSun City, AZ 85351-3164

Royal Oaks is the only Life Plan Community in Sun City offering full Lifecare. The 40-acre campus includes 360 independent living homes and apartments, 59 assisted living apartments, a 56-suite memory care center, and 57 suites for complete supportive living. The community is one of only a handful of retirement centers in the country granted an “A” rating for operations and finances by Fitch Ratings.

Contact Marketing for further information:

(623) 815-4132

Visit our website:

www.RoyalOaks.com

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New Facility Director is a Phoenix native…and a Seattle Seahawks fan

NONPROFIT ORGUS POSTAGE

PAIDPHOENIX, AZPERMIT #1662

Christine Lang is a rarity—a Phoenix native. A job took her to the Seattle area in 1989 and she’s thrilled to be back in the Valley of the Sun as Royal Oaks’ Facility Director. A professional member of the International Facilities Management Association since 1999, she also achieved the internationally recognized designation of Certified Facility Manager in 2000. Certified in OSHA federal regulations, OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management and ISO 14001 Environmental Management programs, Christine was awarded recognition by Washington State city and county governments for implementing programs, making her workplace the “Best Workplaces for Waste Prevention and Recycling.” Keeping the Royal Oaks campus in tip-top shape is her mission, both inside and out. The maintenance,

landscaping, housekeeping, and transportation departments are under her watchful eyes.

“I’m very happy to be back in Arizona,” said Christine. “My parents are here, although I’ll miss my adult daughter whose life keeps her in the northwest. But my son is close. He’s full-time active duty in the Coast Guard and stationed in S. California.” Christine is certified in SCUBA, participates in many outdoor sports, has a love for a variety of music and plans to remain faithful to the Seattle Seahawks! She holds a bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University.