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For Wanda Hoffman, the move to a townhome at the Victorian Village Courts was a simple one. After raising her two children, she, like many people, was balancing caregiving for her mother- in-law and providing childcare for her grandchildren. In addition, her husband’s Parkinson’s made living in a tri-level home difficult. They knew it was…

A Life in the Pictures A young boy from Monroe, Ga., began his life with the film industry by tearing tickets at a theater in town. Part of his job included climbing the outside stairs that led to the balcony, where he collected tickets from people of African-American descent so they could enter a segregated…

Rose Alamprese Frigo, 91, walks with a steady, focused gait, and stops at the short hallway that features her art. With a broad gesture and an almost self-conscious smile, she says, “This is my legacy.” Indeed, her legacy will live on in her art. While she says the purpose of her art was not for…

Don Thomas, a Park Place Elmhurst resident for the past two years, always hada spirit of adventure. “He was always taking trips,” Mavis, his wife of 45 years, says. Don has stories of hitchhiking across the country, of a championship high schoolbasketball season, and life growing up in Minnesota. He speaks like an expertstory teller,…

Retirement living at Park Place of St. John looks about how you’d imagine in the friendly community. Residents spend lots of time with grandkids and great-grandkids, relaxing in the spacious common areas or in their elegant apartments, and taking part in activities designed just for them. But while enjoying retirement brings joy and relaxation, many…

As the greater Chicago area mourns the premature end of a surprisingly successful Chicago Bears season, Gene Schroeder, the Bears 1951 first-round draft pick and resident at Park Place of St. John, understands that disappointment. Before the Super Bowl existed, the best NFL teams competed for the National Championship title. Gene still smarts at the thought of the…

Perusing the vitamins aisle at the store can seem like a confusing bowl of alphabet soup. How do you begin to make sense of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, and so on? Each vitamin plays an important role in our body’s functions and fighting off potential health problems like constipation, heart problems, diabetes, high…

At Providence, we assist many families dealing with dementia — and we know that it isn’t an easy road. While the older adult living with dementia has a difficult journey, the family also often feels overwhelmed. Therefore, we strive to be as helpful, compassionate, and supportive as possible. We create and implement the type of…

Harley VerBeek and his wife Arlene knew they wanted to simplify their lives in retirement. “My wife needed a lot of extra care, and we didn’t want to worry about taking care of the garden and the house and snowblowing and the rest,” Harley says. “We decided to look for independent living, and we found Royal…

Herb & Kathleen Cleve met on a blind date, weeks before Herb was set to leave for Vietnam. “We were actually set up on a double date with other people,” Kathleen explains, “but we both felt we were with the wrong person.” They began dating, and the rest is history. “It was an adventure from…