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.