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.

Since October 2008, these individuals frequently meet to knit garments for people in need around the world. They are especially involved in ‘Save the Children — Warm up America,’ an organization for which they have shipped 125 baby caps and are well on their way to the next 50. With these caps that are donated from across the U.S., the organization has saved over four million babies.

The 11 knitters and nine “passive knitters,” who donate leftover yarns, have also donated 150 hats, mittens and scarves to a charity that helps children of abuse victims in Gaithersburg and Rockville. And it does not stop there with their list of future projects including working on liners for soldiers’ helmets.

According to Cynthia Farringer, the group consists of individuals who come from various locations and backgrounds. There are schoolteachers as well as an accountant, librarian and dancer, among many other careers. The former homelands of the group range from Germany, Italy and England to within the U.S. from Wisconsin to Montana and Maine.

Though their histories are quite unique, they now share a common bond while enjoying one another’s company and an overall sense of camaraderie at The Gardens of Traville, an independent living community, which many of them learned about from their children or on the Internet.

Ms. Farringer said that before coming together, they would simply have nodded greetings and pass the time travelling through their building. But, “Suddenly, as we sat and knitted, we talked and laughed, forgetting our aches and pains and finding the calming and therapeutic values in helping others,” Ms. Farringer says. “Now after 10 months, we are quite close, more like ‘family!’”

With hundreds of donated garments and counting, this group has not only achieved a great deal in their volunteer efforts, but most importantly, they have achieved friendships that have enabled them to make such an impact in the U.S. and different parts of the world.

“You should use it, or you’ll lose it,” said the 91-year-old, who exercises six days a week and does crossword puzzles faithfully. “It’s tremendously important not to slow down.”

A retired lawyer and Harvard Law School alumnus, Hal and his wife Frannie have been residents of Foulkeways at Gwynedd, a Continuing Care Retirement Community in Gwynedd, Pa., for 13 years.

And though his partnership in a Philadelphia law firm kept him busy for many years, it was only after retiring that Hal became his most active. At age 62, he geared up for the most challenging physical feat of his life: hiking the Appalachian Trail.

“Three weeks after retirement, I took off to walk the trail from Georgia to Maine,” Hal recalled. “I have vivid memories of every day of those four-and-a-half months, walking 2,140 miles along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains.” While Hal did occasionally see other campers, the majority of his trek was spent in solitary reflection “There were so many views, and camping under the stars was just wonderful,” he said. He reached the end of the trail on September 11, his 63rd birthday.

That trek was the longest Hal had completed during his 70 years of summer mountaineering, backpacking, trekking and foot-racing in Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, Wyoming’s Wind River Range, New Zealand, Nepal’s Himalayas, the Alps, England’s Cotswolds and New Hampshire’s White Mountains, mostly with Frannie and others.

This journey signaled a new chapter in Hal’s life, which is presently filled with rigorous physical and mental activities.

“Physically speaking, I’ve actually been overactive in growing older,” said Hal. Along with his regular workout routine, he participates in the Montgomery County Senior Games and the annual New Hampshire State 5K foot race. “It’s been tremendously important at the age of 91 to keep up this way,” said Hal, who credits Foulkeways at Gwynedd with encouraging and accommodating his physical endeavors.

The community boasts more than 100 acres suited for physical activities, a number of fine wooded trails and a large fitness center.

“It’s a great blessing to be in a community that supports this wonderful fitness center we have on campus,” he said. “It’s also nice that I can walk to the nearby shopping center in little over half an hour, so that keeps me on the go as well.”

And while keeping his body in prime condition, Hal has given the same attention to his mind. He calls himself “a bit obsessed” with crossword puzzles, enjoying the challenge they add to his heavy reading load. After retiring, Hal also enrolled in art history and music theory classes at Philadelphia Community College to further educate himself.

“I’ve always enjoyed art appreciation and they give a marvelous series of lectures,” Hal said of his classes. “It has enriched my life and furthered my interest in viewing art in museums all over the world.”

This nonagenarian’s life has been extraordinarily full. Hal completed his graduate degree at Harvard University, served his country in World War II and found employment in Philadelphia. He married his wife, Frannie, also an avid hiker, nearly 60 years ago. They have five children, whom they visit frequently in Oregon, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and locally in Mt. Airy and the Lehigh Valley. Hal is also a recipient of the “25-Gallon Donor” award from the American Red Cross, honoring his years of faithful donations.

Hal said his decision to retire right at age 62 was the result of a growing “To Do” list. “There was just so much I wanted to do!” he recalled.

The Kelloggs lived in Philadelphia for a few years in a renovated historic area, but realized they wanted to plan ahead for their “advancing years,” as Hal calls them.

“It was the realization that, at some point, we might need assisted living or skilled nursing care,” he said. “A continuing care retirement community provides all levels of care, should you need them, but does not interfere with your independence while you are living an active lifestyle.”

Hal and Frannie also wanted to be pro-active in the event that they would need medical care later in life.

“We thought it was better to put a plan in place before we had a pressing need, to be ready if we had some serious problems,” said Hal. “If we needed assistance, we didn’t want to just think about it – we wanted to take action.”

The Kelloggs put their names on the waiting lists for two different retirement communities, and after much deliberation, chose Foulkeways at Gwynedd.

Hal and Frannie had heard favorable things about Foulkeways, and ultimately chose the community because of its open and friendly nature. Founded on Quaker ideals, the residents and staff value friendship, diversity and culture. The Kelloggs, who are Episcopalians, felt very much at home.

“It just felt like the right fit, but Foulkeways also aligned with our specific personal and cultural concerns,” Hal said. “It’s a community that has tremendous concern for the larger society, and other people, as well.”

The Kelloggs’ propensity for planning really paid off. “It was about seven years before we finally moved in,” said Hal with a chuckle. “And it was just right to sign up that far in advance, because by the time we moved in we were at the top of the ‘priority’ list and had our choice of residences.”

Hal and his wife live in a one bedroom apartment with a den, which has more than enough room for their belongings. “It’s just perfect for us,” he said, “It has always felt like home.”

Hal and Frannie avoided a lot of the stress of downsizing with advanced planning. When they received the floor plans for their apartment at Foulkeways, they decided what they would take with them and what would stay behind. One day when their children were all visiting their home in Philadelphia, the family decided together who would take the extra belongings.

“We marked all the excess items that we wouldn’t need and each child took turns putting their name tags on items they’d like to have,” he said. “It was the simplest thing in the world.”

With all the extra furnishings gone, the Kelloggs moved into their apartment with ease.

“Planning ahead makes life just so much easier,” said Hal. “My retirement wouldn’t be the same without it.”Many fellow residents at Foulkeways say they admire Hal for his full, active and productive retirement years. Good luck on your next adventure, Hal, and make sure to give us all the details.

Dottie moved back to the North East several years ago and has found many social and emotional connections here. Many of these connections are related to knitting, all because she picked up her knitting needles sixty years ago and decided to let her girlfriend teach her how to knit and purl. Later, she formed a connection with a live in border and her husband’s neighbor through knitting.

Dottie beams as she tells the story of vacationing in Maine with her long-time girlfriend, Kay. “We stayed up late into the night knitting. We had a ball,” she says. She confirms what most knitters know: “You meet people through knitting.”

Recalling the days when she knitted while warming her feet in a coal oven, she thinks about the differences between knitting then and knitting now. “We knitted out of necessity then, we needed to wear those mittens or socks that we made. We couldn’t afford to just go out and by a sweater,” she states. Nowadays, Dottie notes that there is more attention to style, design, and all the beautiful yarns.

“I’m just a plain knitter,” Dottie humbly states. “My advice for those young knitters just starting out is to simply keep knitting!” Dottie knows firsthand what a wonderful experience can be attached to a ball of yarn.

Dottie and I have become great friends over the past three years. I am very grateful to have met her, and thank my knitting needles for casting me her way. The women that I have met and continue to meet along my knit one, purl two journey have been inspirational to me in so many ways. They are the moving force in the creation of a newly formed organization called Wool Power. The mission of Wool Power is to bring knitters together to celebrate the art of knitting, through social and educational interactions.

Please contact Sheri Von Urff at 610-431-7335.