As lifelong educators, Jack Armstrong and Barbara Share have created quite a few lesson plans. When the time came to explore retirement living options, they approached the task like true educators: with well-defined criteria, meticulous checklists and a willingness to adapt their plans.

Now residents of Westminster at Lake Ridge, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., Jack and Barbara began searching for the perfect retirement lifestyle early – and considered locations from Maine to North Carolina. Ultimately, the two academics were swayed by the opportunity to return to a true campus and enjoy a college-like lifestyle.

Jack Armstrong and Barbara Share are lifelong educators who carefully reviewed
all their retirement living options before
moving to Westminster at Lake Ridge.

It was their mutual passion for education that initially brought Jack and Barbara together. Married for 30 years, the couple met while working on a curriculum-development project for the Council of Independent Colleges.

With experience as a college professor and an academic dean, Jack was leading the project. Barbara was serving on the team from the College of Mount Saint Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio. After teaching at both the elementary and high school levels for decades, Barbara had begun teaching college courses and was the director of the continuing education program at Mount Saint Joseph.

“While I was interacting with her as a part of that team, she quickly got my attention,” Jack recalled. The couple began a long-distance relationship, which continued for several years. By the time the project ended, Jack and Barbara had decided to get married.

When Jack was offered a job at a University of Maine satellite campus, the newly married couple moved to the eastern coast of Maine. “It was a great place to live, and a marvelous place to start our marriage,” he said. He served as the academic vice president and also taught at the university before retiring.

Both nature lovers, Jack and Barbara enjoyed the breathtaking scenery and diverse wildlife in Maine. However, they grew weary of winters that began in October and ended in May. “We retired in Maine, but after a year or so, we started looking south,” Barbara said. “I have some hip issues, and I wanted to be able to get outside without being afraid of falling.”

Jack and Barbara started planning. They made a list of must-haves. They narrowed down their locations, and they hit the road. “We took several weeks and  explored a number of areas,” Barbara recalled.

After willingly breaking two of their own rules, the couple settled on a new home in a golf community south of Wilmington, North Carolina. “We promised ourselves that we weren’t going to buy anything on that trip, and that we would never build a house,” Barbara smiled as she recalled. “We broke a couple of our rules, but it was a good experience.”

Jack and Barbara lived in the community near Wilmington for 14 years and enjoyed their proximity to the beach. However, they began to think about the next phase of their lives and started planning for retirement once again.

“With our educational backgrounds, we tend to be list makers and planners,” Jack explained. “That’s just part of our personalities.”

A passion for education brought Jack and Barbara together. They met while working on a curriculum-development project more than 30 years ago.

The planning started when Jack’s parents moved to a CCRC – a decision that was extremely uncommon among their generation. “My parents moved into a CCRC in their early 70s, and they were glad they didn’t wait any longer,” said Jack.

Frequent visits to Jack’s parents convinced Jack and Barbara that they wanted the lifestyle and security offered by a CCRC. As they began to look for the perfect community, location became a major factor. While they were living most of the year in North Carolina, the couple continued to spend the summer months at Jack’s cabin in Maine.

“Every year, we were making this 1,400-mile drive, and we’d stop in Vienna, Va., and stay with my sister for a couple of days,” Barbara recalled. When Barbara’s daughter and her family moved from California to near Richmond, Va., the D.C. Metropolitan region started to look even more attractive. During one of their visits, the couple picked up a copy of Guide to Retirement Living SourceBook and began researching local retirement options and identifying potential communities.

When Jack and Barbara visited Westminster at Lake Ridge, they knew they had found their new home. “I was really tired of filling 80 bags full of leaves every year, and I saw these beautiful cottages, and I knew I was ready,” said Barbara.

In addition to the location and the amenities, Jack and Barbara were also thrilled with the sense of community they found at Westminster. “Having been part of an educational community all of our adult lives, the campus-like atmosphere that was offered here was very appealing,” Jack said.

After moving, both Barbara and Jack quickly became involved in an array of activities. “There really are more activities offered here than you could even begin to take in,” Barbara said. “There are educational things, fun things, movies, so many interesting things – just everything you can imagine.”

Having been part of an educational community all of their adult lives, the campus-like atmosphere of Westminster at Lake Ridge appealed to Jack and Barbara.

Barbara works in the gift shop, which donates its proceeds to community service projects, and serves on the library committee. She is also a member of a memoirs group and has recently started painting for the first time in her life.

A lifelong environmentalist, Jack has been spearheading some of the community’s efforts to become more environmentally conscious while decreasing operating costs. Currently, he is working on a project to get residents to switch out all their regular light bulbs for newer, more energy efficient bulbs.

The couple also enjoys walking on the community’s nature trails and observing the many species of birds that call the community home. “It’s so beautiful here,” Barbara said. “I saw four Herons down by the lower pond just this morning.”

Beyond the wide range of activities, Barbara and Jack have enjoyed meeting so many fascinating new people and making new friends. “As soon as we moved in, we were embraced by everyone. They took us right in, and we had friends from the get-go,” Barbara recalled.

To individuals who fear moving to a retirement community, Jack and Barbara suggest considering everything they have to gain. “People don’t realize that moving to a community like Westminster will not mean losing their support network,” Jack said. “In fact, they’re going to increase their support system; they will have plenty of camaraderie, plenty of interaction and so many more friendships.”

After planning a couple of retirements, Jack and Barbara are relieved to have found the perfect home at Westminster at Lake Ridge. The couple made their lists, checked them several times and then waited until they found a community that fit their exacting criteria. Following their long search, these two lifelong educators are thrilled to be back on campus.

While they consider themselves best friends, the two also refer to one another as ‘pioneers’ in reference to the day that cemented their friendship. Jerry and Lillian are avid walkers and on that particular afternoon, they decided to disregard the sign that warns individuals about crossing the highway.

“We decided we felt like pioneers and were going to brave the traffic,” says Jerry. And they did just that…a number of times.

Although they walk the same road together today, the one that led each of them to Atrium Village is quite unique.

Jerry, a Cincinnati native, had just graduated from high school when the country was on the eve of World War II. After enlisting in the Army Air Force, Jerry had met his wife and spent a good portion of his time overseas in England. With the birth of their first child following the war, Jerry returned to school and received his degrees to become a lawyer.

They eventually settled in Baltimore where they enjoyed the perks of a convenient location. When his wife passed in 1981, Jerry remained busy with his work as a military reservist.

“The Air Force was happy with my work and I retired as a colonel in the Department of HHS ATW as a supervisory attorney, but my greatest accomplishment was receiving the Distinguished Service Award,” he says.

But there was another great accomplishment in store for Jerry when his son approached him about making the transition to a retirement community that could provide the services he needed. At the time, Jerry had been experiencing cardiac problems and was living with his daughter, who had her own health concerns, and her family.

Having lived in military communities for most of his life, he was apprehensive about the move, but had heard nothing but great comments about Atrium Village. What he discovered was that Atrium Village complemented his lifestyle perfectly.

“I wanted enough space to relieve myself of housekeeping duties and I don’t like cooking because I think eating is a social experience, and this community fit perfectly into that,” says Jerry.

Surrounded by similarly active individuals and different opportunities, he has immersed himself in the social environment by helping with the Veterans’ Group and attending public affairs meetings at Atrium Village. He also plans to volunteer in a read-aloud group for residents with vision problems. Fortunately, it was this on-the-go lifestyle that led Jerry to Lillian.

“To find a soul mate is a bonus,” says Jerry, “Because we shared the same feelings and thoughts, it developed into a great friendship.”

Lillian was born in Brooklyn, NY, and since her parents were from Europe, she spoke Yiddish and Polish until she went to school.

“I fell in love with school. I wanted to be a psychiatrist; I was going to teach people how to live the most wonderful life,” she says.

Following her studies, however, Lillian became a teacher, a profession she enjoyed that enabled her to be with her two children more. Over the years, she was able to utilize her psychology background in other part-time jobs, including working with children and adults with special needs in hospitals.

When her husband passed away, Lillian was not quite sure what to do having lived in their Long Island home for 47 years. Although she continued to work, her sons had moved to Baltimore and discussed the next step.

“I was not unhappy, but I was not in the world I had lived in – that was disappearing,” she says. “They said, ‘We found a place that we think you can afford that could work out for you.’”

It was two years ago that Lillian made the move to her apartment in Atrium Village. To this day, she enjoys the freedom of no home-maintenance and constantly being surrounded by others. In fact, she is known by Jerry and her peers as one who can remember the lyrics to any song written since the ’20s and for her knowledge of literary classics.

“I’ve found a home here, I’ve met many welcoming people and I’m very happy,” she says.

And this attitude is exactly what the staff at Atrium Village strives for on a daily basis, especially its newly appointed executive director, Arnold Eppel, who came to the community after having served a storied career as the executive director of the Baltimore County Area Agency on Aging.

This government agency is the largest area agency in the State of Maryland, and under Arnold’s leadership, it created and managed countless programs that have garnered local and national attention. The most well-known program is the annual Baltimore County Senior and Baby Boomer Expo. The Expo attracts thousands of Baltimore County residents and put Arnold front and center to meet and better understand the region’s issues, offerings and challenges.

After completing his graduate studies in the innovative Erickson School of Aging Studies at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Arnold was inspired to transfer his experience, training and education to a different venue, which led him to Atrium Village.

The position has allowed him to focus his talents and energies on the needs of a tight-knit community as opposed to the massive geographic reach of Baltimore County. Arnold himself is a resident of Owings Mills and lives just a few minutes from the community which only enhances his connection to the surrounding neighborhoods and his ability to serve as a leader.

Arnold’s enthusiasm and drive to make Atrium Village “the best retirement community in the state” are unwavering. He is a fixture in all parts of the community soliciting feedback from the residents, talking to staff and focusing on ways to improve and innovate. His enthusiasm and expertise lends itself to Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Legacy Court, or Memory care.

The constant aspirations of the staff and the offerings of the community further prove to residents like Lillian and Jerry, and their families, that they made the right decision.

“At the time, people told me I should have moved in with my children,” says Lillian, “I thought, they have their own families and homes, and I’m part of that family, but I want my own place.”

And with her budding friendship and a retirement community that strives to meet individualized needs, Lillian certainly found the right place. At Atrium Village, whether it’s simply stretching the boundaries of a walk or exceeding expectations in retirement living, there is no question that there are several “pioneers” among its residents and staff.