Merrill and Judy Skolnik were overwhelmed by the thought of moving until they enlisted the help of a moving coordinator.

The Skolniks began looking at continuing care retirement communities (CCRC), and after a lengthy search, they selected Roland Park Place in Baltimore, Md. The two native Baltimoreans have a long history in the area and were relieved to find a place in the city and close to their children.

After raising their four children, Judy launched a career as an advisor at Towson University. An electrical engineer, Merrill earned his degree from Johns Hopkins University and worked for nearly 40 years for the U.S. government. When he retired, he was the Superintendent of the Radar Division of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and a widely renowned author and expert in radar technology.

After living in the same home for decades, the Skolniks were overwhelmed by the thought of moving. Even after finding the right retirement community, they had no idea of where or how to start the transition.

The staff at Roland Park Place suggested that the Skolniks enlist the help of Senior Transitions, Inc., a moving coordinating company owned and operated by Charna Kinneberg, RN, MBA. Senior Transitions assists seniors and their families with every aspect of the moving process from planning and downsizing to packing and unpacking.

“We are not a one-size-fits-all company. Each client is unique,” Charna explained. “Our services are tailored to relieve the stress of moving, and our first goal is to determine the exact needs of the client.”

When Charna started helping the Skolniks, relocating began to seem manageable. “She just took the whole burden off; she was in charge,” recalled Judy. “Thank goodness for Charna.”

Instead of worrying about home maintenance or feeling isolated, the Skolniks now enjoy a wide range of activities with new friends and
neighbors.

Charna helped Judy and Merrill make key decisions about what to take with them and what to leave behind. “She’s very decisive,” Judy recalled of Charna. “She knows what should be done and just does it.” She also enlisted help to do the packing and unpacking, so the couple did not have to worry about the physical tasks of the move.

“They were just wonderful,” Judy said of Senior Transitions. “They pack you up, and they bring you here, and they unpack you. They even make up your bed, and you’re ready to begin your new life.”

In addition to being efficient and professional, Charna and her staff also formed a personal relationship with the Skolniks. It was almost a year after they moved that Judy recalled seeing some of Senior Transitions’ staff members in the lobby of Roland Park Place. “A new resident was moving in upstairs with Charna’s help. I recognized the movers, and, to my surprise, they greeted me by name. They remembered everything about us. I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

Since moving, the Skolniks have enjoyed a much-improved lifestyle. Merrill stopped driving and Judy only drives during the day, so the couple rarely ventured out in the evenings while living in their house. Now, they take the community bus to the opera, theater, concerts and dinners. “There’s something to do here all the time,” Judy said. “I try to take advantage of everything, and it’s been very stimulating.”

Finding a community close to home and the professionals to help them make the move has helped the Skolniks transition to their ideal retirement. From living an isolated life in their increasingly burdensome house to enjoying activities and events with new friends and neighbors, the Skolniks have certainly made a move in the right direction.

The best books leave the reader anxious to start each new chapter. The best people are no different. They approach the next chapter of their lives with anticipation and a sense of excitement that propels them into discovery, promotes creativity and provides a rich view of life.

Julia McLean Williams, at age 84, still can’t wait to turn the page! Throughout her many adventures all over the world, chapter after chapter have been added that continue to shape her life and philosophy.

Now living at Chesterbrook Residences, an active assisted living community in Falls Church, Virginia, Julia thrives. “It is a place that nourishes,“ she said. Chesterbrook Residences is a non-profit, mixed income assisted living supported by Lewinsville Presbyterian Church, Immanuel Presbyterian Church and Temple Rodef Shalom.

One of Julia’s earliest professional experiences set the tone for her remarkable career and her approach to life. In a job at the beginning of her career, she was asked to teach a severely handicapped child who had hydrocephalous. She found she had to become a scientist and search for ways to reach the person in this silent little girl.

“One day as I looked intently into the child’s eyes, I saw a sudden and unexpected flash of life, like a light, in her eyes,” Julia said. “I realized in that profound moment that she could understand love in the same way I did.” From then on throughout her teaching career, she looked into the face of her students to find that flash of light to build on. Following this experience, she was asked to start the first class for exceptional children in the public schools in Lincoln Parrish in Louisiana.

A great ten-year “chapter” took place in her life when Julia, her husband and children moved to the high plain of Bolivia, South America. Before their departure, they spent a year completing Spanish Language study in Costa Rica. Their work in Bolivia was to help the Aymara Indians improve their agricultural techniques and thus their well being. “We all became citizens of the world in those years,” Julia said.

Upon return to the U.S., Julia was asked to start a non-profit special school in Raleigh, NC. It incorporated her philosophy that interdependency is the highest form of maturity, not independence. “I put normal, gifted and handicapped children together because we live in the world that way,” she explained. The school is called Learning Together, Inc. and continues as an exemplary, award-winning program after 30 years.

Several years later when Julia was president of the Mission Board of the United Methodist Conference in North Carolina, she was involved in taking teams to Bolivia to work on special projects there. In a remote area in Trinidad, Bolivia, a team worked with a small group of lepers. Marcelo was the first leper they met. He was nearly blind, could stand, but not walk. He lived in a pitiful small room behind an abandoned hospital. He was isolated and ill.

Julia McLean Williams, at age 84

Julia remembered, “When I put my arm around him, he cried. He told me he was crying because no one had touched him for 20 years.”

Despite his circumstances, Marcelo thought only of the needs of others. He attributed his joy and concern for others to a vision he had in the middle of the night years before. He said that in the vision Jesus came and stood beside his cot and said to him, “Marcelo, use who you are and be happy.” Even the decades since this happened cannot dull the impact of this chapter. Marcelo has challenged the hundreds of people who have heard his story to “use who you are and be happy.”

After retiring, Julia developed macular degeneration and could no longer live at home alone. She began the extensive research of retirement facilities that led her to Chesterbrook Residences in Falls Church, VA.

“I looked at several places and knew I wouldn’t survive in them because there was no stimulation,” Julia remembered. When she walked into the lobby of Chesterbrook, the experience was much different. “People were sitting in lovely nooks, talking and laughing. The atmosphere was alive with energy,” Julia said. “I knew I was home. I never regretted moving one second.”

When she isn’t busy with Chesterbrook‘s many activities, Julia is often with companion, Bill Meyer. The two met shortly after she arrived at Chesterbrook. Her newfound love is one of the many things she treasures about this new chapter in her life.

Today, Julia focuses on finishing her book, How Do You Spell JOY? The title is derived from an innocent question asked of her by a young Chilean refugee as he wrote a letter to his grandmother in Chile about his new life after being adopted by Julia’s church.

Whether as an author, educator, missionary, mother of four or grandmother of eight, Julia looks forward to starting each new chapter. After all, a new chapter offers opportunities to give and receive JOY- no matter how you spell it!

Once they began to consider retirement living options, they quickly realized that they would need some assistance making decisions. When Dee found an ad for Senior Supportive Services, Inc., a “one-stop-shop” designed specifically to provide and coordinate all older adults services, she knew they had found the help they needed. The firm offered assistance with everything from selling their home and packing and moving to finding a retirement community that fit their needs.

After reviewing their finances and budget, as well as researching areas and the timeframe in which they wished to move, SSS, Inc. suggested several retirement communities to the Mosses. They could begin the moving process by visiting these communities. Jeanette, the owner of Senior Supportive Services, Inc., helped them make the most of their visits by making recommendations. Dee explains, “Jeanette advised us as to which places to go and helped us decide what was right for us.”

Armed with this knowledge, the couple toured Manor at Yorktown and soon became some of the first residents at the community. Of life since the move, they relate, “We’ve been here for 2 years now, and we really love it. It’s in a lovely rural area that still has many of the conveniences we wanted nearby.”

Now comfortably settled in their new apartment, the Mosses are incredibly thankful for the assistance that Senior Supportive Services, Inc. continues to offer them, “Jeanette and her staff have handled our taxes and all of our investments and have really helped us recover financially from September 11th. She also recently got me an appointment with one of the best doctors in the area for a consultation for hip replacement surgery.” It is this type of continued assistance that affords the Mosses the opportunity to relax and truly enjoy all that retirement living can offer.