Thursday, September 24, 2015

Resident Spotlight: Genevieve Peredna


Born in the South side of Chicago on December 6th, 1915, Genevieve Peredna is surely one of the longest-standing residents of Chicago, considering she’s stayed here her entire life.  When she was 7, her poverty-stricken family moved to Canyon, a small rural area with only three houses on her street. Her parents were full-blooded Lithuanians and had three children, in which Genevieve was the middle child.

Genevieve grew up in the depression era and though her family as poor and lived in a rural neighborhood, Genevieve was the only one who went to high school for 2 years and then became a bookkeeper. Her high school achievement was a rarity and was amazing for that time! She also did advertising for a while, as well as payrolls by using a ‘comptometer,’ a giant machine that adds numbers for you. While her bosses loved her and she ‘worked very hard,’ she eventually left this position to take care of her parents.
In 1938, Genevieve married her grammar-school crush and dancing fiend of a husband. They were incredible partner dancers, especially in the waltz. He worked doing management, was an incredible singer and dancer, and both he and Genevieve were actively involved in their church doing fundraising. Her husband was drafted into the first division of the first army in Germany on the front lines. During his time of service, she had her first daughter. When the war ended, he had to stay on duty and when returned, he ended up at President Eisenhower’s headquarters for 2 years as the head draftsmen. Then, they moved together to the house across from her parent’s to take care of them and stayed there for 62 years.
They had their second daughter in this time, who worked, alongside her sister, in the education system for more than 30 years each, with either a Master’s degree or a PHD. With numerous grandchildren and six great grandchildren, Genevieve’s life has been very full and very special! The majority of the generations below her are either lawyers, doctors, nurses or in the news industry. While five of her great grandchildren are in Seattle, one is in Chicago and comes to visit Waterford Estates often.
Genevieve and her now late husband moved to Waterford just shy of three years ago and has enjoyed every moment since she set foot on campus.
“There’s just about anything you want to do here. All the help here is very nice. They are always there to help you. I’m happy here,” Peredna said.
As far as her involvement as a 3-year resident of Waterford, Genevieve is quite involved in serving and helping others. She is a ‘resident ambassador,’ welcoming in new residents and showing them the lifestyle while adjusting to a new place. She is also a part of the ladies ‘Red Hatters,’ in which they do various weekly service projects in and outside the campus. Genevieve’s sharpness, high character, positive attitude, hard work ethic and servitude comes from her greatest influence and from her overall life experience, as a near 100-year-old woman!
“My mom was a sharp woman. She worked hard and talked about good things. She overcame a lot of hard things, including blindness and my dad had Palsy. We used to reminisce together on the porch. Losing her and my husband are the hardest things I’ve done but I can’t complain about it.. I am so grateful, have had such a good life and my kids are good to me,” Genevieve said.
Genevieve is an essential part of our family here at Waterford Estates. Her current hobby is going to hear Shannon, our activities director, read an 1927 Memoir on Monday evenings. We love Genevieve and she is full of life! With her 100th birthday coming up, we are so excited to honor and celebrate a woman who gives and brings so much to our life here at Waterford!
If you are interested in learning more about our nursing home Olympia Fields community, located in Hazel Crest, contact us here.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Family Member Testimonials Say It All


When moving a family member out of the house and into a retirement community, it can be a difficult transition along with many other potential stresses and worries for families. Here at Waterford Estates, our staff intentionally helps each individual with the transition, move, and any need possible, all while keeping in constant communication with the family members.
Listen and watch this video of a few families talking about their wonderful experience of working with Waterford after moving their loved one into our assisted living facility.

If you are interested in more information on our memory care tinley park area community, located in Hazel Crest, contact us here!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Grand Living At Waterford Estates

For every Grandparent, Great-Grandparent, and person who has been “grand” to a youngster, September 13th is YOUR day. It is only fitting that one day of the year is set aside to honor Grandparents … the family strength!
National Grandparents Day originated with Marian McQuade, a West Virginia housewife with 15 children and 40 grandchildren, who was a champion for lonely senior citizens. She was elected Vice-Chairman of her state’s Committee on Aging and appointed a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging. She hoped to persuade grand-children to tap the wisdom and heritage their elders could provide. Because of her diligence, President Jimmy Carter in 1978, proclaimed Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day. So enjoy this day with your family, and your Waterford family. It’s the greatest gift your loved ones can receive from you.
If you are interested in more information on an assisted living tinley park area community, located in Hazel Crest, contact us here.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Caregiver Resources


With the number of Caregiver’s increasing rapidly, it’s important to keep up to date with resources, programs and services available to Caregivers across the nation. From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, here is a great web source for federal resources for caregivers from Administration to Medicaid, Centers for Prevention to Institutes of Health. On this site, you will find hundreds of legitimate articles, support groups, publications and more to help aid you in the process of Caregiving.
As a Caregiver, there will come a time when you are ready for the next step, and we want to be there to help during the transition into a loving and welcoming independent living or assisted living Olympia Fields community, located in Hazel Crest. Our expert staff here are ready to assist you in the process at any time so contact us here!