Residents of Elim Village Fleetwood: Jean and Frank

Written by: Theresa B., Resident Contributor to The Elim Connection newsletter

Jean and Frank moved to the Independent Living in 2011. They enjoyed life together prior to Frank moving into Residential Care in 2015. Jean said it took Frank about 6 months to adjust to his new home and that now he is very content.

I asked Jean to share some of her memories of them, before they moved to Elim. Jean replied saying, “Frank and I were farmers and worked around the clock. Everything was geared to farming. After retiring, we moved to a condo in Victoria. There, Frank became an avid gardener and grew 35 varieties of roses, knowing each by its name. However, his health deteriorated and we found out he had Diabetes. Meanwhile, I had kept busy in a thrift shop. There I saw a free magazine where the last full page was devoted to advertising Elim. We decided to go see it and were impressed. It was fall and everything was so beautiful. A year later we moved to Elim. In spite of the medical problems we’ve experienced, Elim is a wonderful place to be and we’ve enjoyed much happiness here.”

“After living together in independent living, Frank began falling and needed help. I was not able to pick him up and at first he refused to go to the hospital. However, after a few times in the hospital, the doctor said that Frank needed a special place to go. After waiting a short time for an available room, Frank moved into the Harrison. It has been a hard transition to live separately, but we are now growing as friends. Together we can relate to the past. Recently, he said to me, “I still remember when you moved to our school.” I asked him; “well, what did you think?” To which he replied, “Pretty good; I used to count the hours before our next date.” However, if I ask him what he had for lunch, he doesn’t remember. Another time he asked me, how old he was to which I replied that he was 88. “My goodness,” he said. “And how old are you?” “84” I answered. “Wow, you’re an old lady!” he exclaimed.

Some time ago, the Harrison residents went on a bus trip to the farm. There they could even milk a cow. It was right up Frank’s alley and he has not forgotten that.