Crestview Spirit

Volume 2, Issue 2

April 2012

April 2012

Resident Spotlight…..Getting to Know You

Friends

“May there always be work for your hands to do, may your purse

always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine on your

windowpane, may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May

the hand of a friend always be near you, may God fill your heart

with gladness to cheer you.”

- Irish Blessing

This old Irish blessing brings to mind two lovely ladies that re-

side at Crestview who are true friends and whose hearts are

filled with gladness. Annie Farris and Johanna Yeager are room-

mates in our new community and are so by choice. Annie and

Johanna shared a room in the old Crestview building for quite

some time and when moving day arrived, they requested to re-

main as roommates. These two friends have travelled down such

parallel paths in life, there is no wonder that they have arrived

here as friends. According to Plato; Friends have all things in

common. This is especially true with these friends. Imagine as

you read their story that they must have been destined to meet.

(continued on page 4)

I have a hand and you have another; put them together and we have each other.

Over the past month or so, several residents have asked if MRC Crestview is celebrating its

50th anniversary. Yes we are! As a proud member of the Methodist Retirement Communities

(MRC) system, we are celebrating a long and gloried past of MRC serving seniors all across

Texas since 1962.

MRC Crestview will soon celebrate its own 50th anniversary in 2014. Construction began on

the original Crestview building in 1962 with doors opening in January, 1964. In 1970, Crest-

view joined the MRC system. Since 1964, and with the completion of Arbor Oaks in 2013,

MRC Crestview will have grown from a 58 unit single building, to multi-faceted operation

serving well over 500 seniors.

While change may be considered the only constant in life by some, at MRC Crestview we

view our commitment to serving others as “another constant” in life. Our service ministry is

our focus, and we remain committed to serving our residents and families, our employees, and our community.

We also feel that we not only have the ability to lead the senior living industry in the Brazos Valley, but we have

an obligation to lead in the direction that is good for the local community.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank an untiring group of civic minded volunteers, our Board members,

both past and present, who have been the guiding light that shaped this focus. We celebrate not only these 50

years of service but also move forward to the coming years in celebration of what lies on the horizon.

F r o m t h e d e s k o f t h e e x e c u t i v e d i r e c t o r

P a g e 2 C r e s t v i e w S p i r i t

Matthew Currie

Executive Director

Several years ago I heard a sermon by Tony Campolo entitled, “Friday’s Here But Sunday’s

Coming”. He told about how those gathered on that fateful Friday must have felt to see their

hopes and dreams apparently shattered on a cruel wooden cross on Mount Calvary. It is

difficult to imagine what those disciples and the mother of Jesus experienced as our beloved

Savior bled and suffered on the old rugged cross and for a world of lost sinners was slain.

Can you imagine the despair and disappointment as they saw their hopes ‘put away’ in a

borrowed tomb. There was no TGIF on that seemingly sad day.

Friday’s here BUT Sunday’s coming! The most important word in that sermon title may be

the word ‘BUT’. That conjunction means … on the contrary and is used to introduce a

contrast. Friday’s here BUT Sunday’s coming! Boy oh boy … did Sunday come? TGIS!

What a contrast? The morning light of that glorious Sunday came and Up from the grave

He arose with a mighty triumph oe’r His foes. He arose a victor from the dark domain, And

He lives forever with His saints to reign. HE AROSE! HE AROSE! Hallelujah, Christ

Arose!

Talk about a comeback story! Jesus came back from death, hell and the grave and we have

a living Saviour. Because the story didn’t end on Friday we have forgiveness for our past,

purpose for our present and hope for our future. Whatever our life brings with its disap-

pointments and despair we know that there is a ‘Sunday’ coming. There is hope! Imagine

the rejoicing and ecstasy those same witnesses of the cross experienced as they shared good

news with each other. Friday and Sunday are more than names of days. They represent

times of our lives when we experience agony and ecstasy, failure and success, loss and

gain, defeat and victory. We will all experience ‘Fridays’ in our lives. However, real and

eternal hope can be experienced when we accept Christ as our Saviour and Lord and when

we realize that behind a ‘Friday’ of trouble comes a ‘Sunday’ of hope and triumph because

JESUS LIVES!

R e v e r e n d G a r y A d a m s

Gary Adams

Pastoral Care Director

C r e s t v i e w S p i r i t P a g e 3

Barry Braithwaite

Weis Builders, Inc. Senior Superintendent,

Barry Braithwaite tours MRC Crestview with

his beautiful family. Barry has lead his team

through construction of Phase I and now

presses forward into the much anticipated

Phase II. We consider him a part of our

Crestview family. Thank you Barry for

continuing to do a great job on the

construction of our new community.

A r b o r O a k s C o n s t r u c t i o n

A Word from Barry Braithwaite, Construction Superintendent

As Construction Superintendent for Arbor Oaks at Crestview, I feel honored to con-

tinue serving the Methodist Retirement Community following completion of Crest-

view Court. I am originally from Colby, Wisconsin, currently residing in Bryan and

have worked with Weis Builders for over 10 years.

During the coming weeks we will continue to work on the soil at the Arbor Oaks building site. We will

implement a procedure to prevent and minimize the potential for vertical rise due to the high clay content

found in the soil. By definition, “potential vertical rise” is expressed in millimeters (inches), and is the

latent or potential ability of a soil material to swell, at a given density, moisture and loading condition

when exposed to capillary or surface water and thereby increase the elevation of its upper surface along

with anything resting on it. We will continue to haul out dirt beneath the ground at the site. Dirt will be

excavated 6 1/2 feet below the slab level and exported. New dirt will be added and classified as “select

fill” to bring the building to the desired elevation. The “select fill” will be placed in 8-inch increments, all

compacted and tested. This is done to ensure settling and movement is

mitigated. As you can imagine, this is a time consuming process. Texas

has received much needed rain in the last few weeks; however, we need it

dry at our construction site.

As we move forward in this process, I will continue to provide updates of

the construction process. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to

build your beautiful new Arbor Oaks community.

P a g e 4

C r e s t v i e w S p i r i t

Annie Vivian Farris was born in Cottonwood, Texas on January 7,

1912. She grew up in Madison County and attended school in Cotton-

wood. She was the third youngest of six girls and three boys. Annie

grew into a lovely young lady and married Jeff Farris Sr. He was a

rancher who raised cattle and at one time, turkeys and hogs. Annie and

Jeff had two children; Jeff Jr. and Angela. According to Annie, they

were “good children”. Annie was a wonderful mother who nurtured

her children as she took care of the home.

While her children attended school in the quaint town of Madisonville,

Texas, Annie was busy on the home front. There was laundry to do

and that was no small feat. At that time, the method was to boil the

garments in a large pot outdoors and hang them to dry on a clothes line.

There was gardening to do and with all that it produced, came the time

consuming task of taking care of the produce, such as shelling peas.

Despite the fact that she did not like to cook, she was an excellent one.

What she did enjoy however was sewing. She made clothes for her

children and grandchildren. She even sewed her daughter’s wedding

dress. Quilting was her favorite and she still possesses many of these

masterpieces today. She began quilting as a young girl where she re-

members sitting in a large hall in her mother’s house and sewing for

hours. Annie shopped in Madisonville and Bryan for those items that a

ranch did not produce. Even with the availability of store bought

items, she was creative and was able to make useful items from ingre-

dients she had on hand. She made glue from flour and water and made

quilts from material scraps. She also had the skills of a hair dresser.

Living through the Great Depression, she was very resourceful and believed in the value of learning to sew, cook,

clean and take care of babies. She also believed in God and had a strong faith. Annie taught her children to “go

through life with blinders on” in the face of personal tragedy. Ac-

cording to her daughter Angela, this has been a source of great

strength for her through the years. She attended Primitive Baptist

Church in High Prairie which still exists today.

Today, both of Annie’s children live on the land where she once lived.

She has four grandchildren and five great grandchildren. In addition

to her loving family, Crestview is blessed to consider her part of our

family and recently celebrated her 100th birthday in our new commu-

nity. She is the third member of her family to live over 100 years and

keeps in close touch with her big sister who is 101 years old. She

likes the new building better than the old one and said that she thinks

it is real nice here. She likes the food and being close to the dining

room and enjoys playing bingo.

A n n i e V i v i a n F a r r i s

Above: Annie Farris and her

sister, Margie Prescott, at

Annie’s 100th Birthday Celebration

H o m e H e a l t h

C r e s t v i e w S p i r i t P a g e 5

Johanna Yeager was born just two miles from Kurten,

Texas on August 30, 1916. She is of German de-

scent and can read, speak and sing in German. In addi-

tion to attending a regular school year, she attended

German school in her community for 13 summers

which was taught by her pastor. As a young girl, she

helped the family on the farm. Her mother would stay

at the house in the mornings preparing a good meal for

lunch and then she would join them for the afternoon

labor. Johanna recalls that those were “the good times”. In those days, Highway 21 which

went through her community, was a dirt road with tracks and deep gullies on each side.

As years passed, she became a beautiful young woman and married Arthur Yeager on No-

vember 28, 1035 at Zion Church in Kurten where they both had been baptized and con-

firmed. Johanna and her family were always engaged in community and church activities. The family worshipped

at Faith United Church in Bryan since the early 1950’s. Arthur was the founding manager of Producer’s Coopera-

tive in Bryan, Texas. They settled into their home just two miles down the road from where Johanna grew up.

There they raised their children; Grace, Elsie, Ruth and Eldon. While her husband managed the Co-op, Johanna

managed the farm. There was plenty to do and they always had a large garden. She would can and freeze the

vegetables, shell peas and make jelly. Through the years, many two legged and four legged animals demanded her

attention. For the past 40 years they were engaged in cattle ranching and the cattle ranching continues today. To

this day, Johanna is interested in ranching and regularly inquires about how the cattle are doing. She also raised

caged hens, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, pigs and turkeys. She said that the turkeys didn’t have much sense! She

made good use of their cracked turkey eggs by making an abundance of angel food cakes through the years. In

addition to the produce and the animals, there was also a time where there was cotton to tend to.

Johanna loved to cook and she was a good one. She cooked for many years on a wood burning stove until moving

into a new home that had a gas one. She had a passion for reading and collecting cookbooks. She remembers that

she always liked to try new recipes from her large collection. Johanna still holds responsibility in cooking with

the family by making the english pea salad every Thanksgiving. In addition to the joys of cooking came the task

of washing clothes in the outdoor boiling pot and hanging them to dry on the line. She would shop at the Humpty

Dumpty in downtown Bryan for staples. She enjoyed sewing clothes for her girls and made many wedding

dresses. She made so many quilts over the years that she

could make them with her eyes shut.

Johanna’s four children currently live on the very land that

she and Arthur owned for many years. She has lived

longer than all of her ancestors and has been blessed with

ten grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. She is

considered a blessing to her family at Crestview. Johanna

likes her new room where she is able to sit by the window

to see the daily activities at the front entrance and watch

through her open door to observe the happenings in the

hall. She said “It’s like a picture show”. She enjoys play-

ing bingo and feels that the staff are very good to her.

J o h a n n a Y e a g e r

P a g e 6

D i n i n g S E R V I C E S

“HOW TIME FLIES”

It seems like we just celebrated Christmas and the New Year and now we are moving into

Spring! All I can say is that time has a way of slipping by and if we are not careful we can

miss some amazing events. I have been so busy that I did not notice the Bluebonnets in full

bloom until my youngest son made a comment just last Sunday. How time flies is an un-

derstatement when we do not take the time to see the moment at hand. I have been so

guilty of being consumed with work and going to my youngest son’s basketball games and

being pre-occupied with other task at hand that I forgot that I need to make time for me.

Making time to go to my son’s basketball games is great and enjoyable and doing tasks for

others can be enjoyable – but every now and

then I have to remember to do something

special just for me. Taking a walk, watching

a good movie, spending time reading a great

book, or getting involved in a favorite past

time can be relaxing and rewarding and it re-

news one’s spirit. We need to remember, we

all need our time so we do not let time fly

away! Take a moment and smell the sweet-

ness of the roses in bloom or listen to the

songs of the birds and renew your spirit.

James Logan

Food Service Director

T h e C r e s t v i e w V o l u n t e e r s

C r e s t v i e w S p i r i t

Lenora Montgomery admires the special gifts available for

Easter. Shopping in the Jane Lee Gift Shop at Crestview is

always fun. Along with many items to choose from she

knows she will not be rushed in her selection. Crestview

volunteer Marsha Ross is there to assist her and add special

touches if she requests them. The Gift Shop is operated as a

service to the residents by the Crestview volunteers, and all

proceeds are used to fund the services provided by the volun-

teers for the residents. Shop at the Jane Lee Gift shop at

Crestview when you visit your special resident.

Hours of Operation

Monday - CLOSED

Tuesday - Friday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Saturday - Sunday 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Jane Lee Gift Shop

P a g e 7 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

C r e s t v i e w S p i r i t P a g e 7

C r e s t v i e w t e r r a c e , C r e s t v i e w p l a c e

C R E S T V I E W u n i t y

MRC Crestview Court

979-776-4778

Crestview Place, Crestview Terrace

and Crestview Unity

979-776-9294

Informational Seminars

In an effort to increase community

awareness, MRC Crestview held it’s

first informational seminar (Medicare

in a CCRC) in a series of Community

Outreach Seminars. Crestview staff

member, Joy Benedict, has a wealth of

knowledge in Medicare and graciously

spoke to those attending. The goal is

to educate the community on various

topics pertinent to aging, to become a

resource for children of the aging

population and increase traffic into our

new community. The seminar was

advertised through print ads, radio,

and as a voice over on the current commercial. Through this advertis-

ing, we filled the first seminar. A second seminar was also held at the

end of March. More informational seminars are in the works and all

are welcome to attend.

Right: Crestview

Terrace residents

enjoying their monthly

Pot Luck

Above: Ladies of Crestview Terrace,

Place, and Unity were able to receive

their annual mammogram onsite

provided by THE Rose Mobile

Mammogram. Thank you to ladies of

The Rose for their time and

professionalism for making the process

simple and convenient.

Left : Place Resident, Jeannie

Boco’s daughter Shawn Andaya-

Pulliam, was inducted into the Texas

Sports Hall of Fame on March 1,

2012 as the first female Aggie athlete

and softball player. Shawn was a

three-time All-American and the

winning pitcher for the Aggies in the

1987 National championship game.

Congratulations to both Jeannie and

her daughter Shawn!

Upcoming Events:

Ice Cream Float Social

provided by Mike Richards

Nutrition Seminar provided by

Texas Agri Life Extension

Aging Well – Brazos Valley

Hospice

Potluck Dinner

Dining Out

Cinco de Mayo Social

Mission

Methodist Retirement

Communities is committed

to quality living

for senior adults in a

Christian environment.

A c t i v i t i e s

P a g e 8

APRIL Special Dates

April 5 - Last Supper Service at 2:30 p.m.

In Assisted Living Dining Room

April 6th - Good Friday Service at 3:00 p.m.

April 7 - Korean Youth Orchestra

April 8 - Special Easter Worship

Service 9:00 a.m.

April 10 - Luau Party

April 18 - Volunteer Tea

Alice Mendez

Activities Director

June

Father’s Day

Party

June 14th

Activities…Providing social interaction to enhance our residents’ lives.

Looking forward to May….

Fiesta Evening Party

Nursing Home Week - May 13-19

Mother’s Day Party - May 11

60’s Party

In February, residents and staff

stepped back in time to the 60’s with a

groovy themed party. Many were

sporting their tie dye shirts made

during craft time. Activity Director,

Alice Mendez continues to help the

residents celebrate the Methodist

Retirement Communities’ 50th

Anniversary with great themed parties

that take us back over the

past 50 years.

C r e s t v i e w S p i r i t

P a g e 9 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

C r e s t v i e w S p i r i t P a g e 9

Thank You Crestview Volunteers!

The Crestview Volunteers have given this

beautiful new Kawai piano to be used by the

residents and for resident events. We are

blessed to have the support of this faithful

group who has given so much.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to

Fernita Swalin and

Ralph Plagens who were named

Queen and King of the

Valentine’s Dance!

Welcome Eva Hutton

Thank you for welcoming me as your new Community

Outreach Coordinator. I have been an LVN for 29 years and

formerly a Home Health Nurse for Crestview. Many of my

former patients are residents of our Assisted Living area and I

am so happy to be able to see them more often! I will be

reaching out to the community and sharing Crestview’s

Mission with the residents of Bryan/College Station. We are

excited about our upcoming programs and will have more

news to share next month! I currently reside in Navasota,

with my husband, horses, cats, dogs and my own special

senior citizen, my Dad!

P a g e 1 0 C r e s t v i e w S p i r i t

If you see these ladies…

Say Hi! They are your home health team here at

Crestview Retirement Community and we would

love to assist you however we can.

Sincerely, Gail Hebert, Director of Nursing.

Tira Regmund

is a Certified Nurse Aide whose

hard work and cheerful spirit has

assisted our patients to be more

independent in their own homes.

Marilyn Mack

is a Certified Nurse Aide,

Certified Medication Aide, and

Office Assistant who blesses

the home health office daily

Renata Lutz

is a Registered Nurse who

has a heart-felt helping hand

for all of her patients.

Natasha Turner

is a Licensed Vocational Nurse

and the newest member of the

home health team. She provides

sincere and compassionate care

with every home health.

Vadie Buckner

is an Assistant Administrator and

Licensed Vocational Nurse

who manages all the private duty

sitters and the daily schedules.

She is a very dedicated member

of the team.

H o m e H e a l t h

Cindi Dunham

is our Assistant Director of

Nursing and brings a bubbly

personality to us all. Her

years of nursing experience

are valuable to our team and

patients.

P a g e 1 1 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

C r e s t v i e w S p i r i t P a g e 1 1

ASSISTED LIVING and NURSING

I hope you are enjoying the beauty of this new home. The old Crestview Court

served us well for many years and I am thankful for those who had the vision to

develop a Christian Retirement Community in Bryan/College Station. With God’s

guidance, Crestview has been a home for many, a place to grow older feeling safe

and loved. As we began to build the new Crestview Court, time seemed to go

slowly and it seemed like forever before we got to move into our new home and

now we have been here for four months. Thank you for being patient as together

we have learned our way around this new home. There have been so many

changes. Our Crestview family is spread out from one end of the building to the

other. It is taking more effort to be a family and I am grateful for the staff and

volunteers that help us remain a family by providing activities, parties and times of

worship when we can all be together. God has blessed Crestview with wonderful residents, volunteers,

and staff and with a new home where our family can grow. Crestview now has the opportunity to serve

forty-eight (48) skilled nursing residents and seventy (70) assisted living residents. Serving more people

means our family also grows with more staff. What a gift it is to be able to share our Heavenly Father’s

love with so many new people who will become part of the Crestview family.

Crestview Treasures

MRC Foundation, in coordination with Crestview Retirement Community and the local Bryan residents,

will provide a donation pick up service for residence of Crestview. This service will offer a donation

opportunity to the families and residents as they transition in and out of the Crestview community.

Once a year, Crestview will host a two-day event

“Crestview Treasures”

to sell donated items in a preview night with a

silent auction followed by a full-day tent sale.

We are currently seeking help and will continue to welcome

volunteers throughout the project. We have an immediate need for

a team of strong individuals as well as a climate-controlled storage

facility to use on an ongoing basis.

All proceeds will go to the Benevolent Fund for residents. Please connect with one of the following

people if you have an interest in helping the wonderful

men and women of MRC Crestview.

Nita Hoelscher at 979-690-0959 or nhoelschr@suddenlink.net

Jennifer Campbell at 281-210-0115 or jcampbell@mrcaff.org

Judy Draper at jdraper@suddenlink.net

Cheryl Clark

Assisted Living Director

Special Easter Worship Service Sunday, April 8th

9:00 a.m.

Crestview Court Chapel

MRC Crestview Retirement Community

2505 Villa Maria Road

Bryan, Texas 77802

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