Gil and Barbara Stein know this simple fact well. Recently, the couple gave their children an incredible gift and quickly discovered the joy of giving. After carefully reviewing the nearby options, the Steins signed a contract on a new villa in Waverly Heights, a lifecare community in Gladwyne, Pa. Waverly Heights is a Main Line community located a mere 10 miles northwest of Philadelphia, Pa.

“We decided moving here would be a gift to our children, since they would never have to worry about taking care of their parents,” Barbara explained. “Since moving, we’ve discovered that it was really a gift for ourselves.”

While the Steins originally planned to move to Waverly Heights in 2012, they decided to relocate a year earlier based on the sage advice of current residents. “All the residents uniformly recommended that we come early and enjoy the lifestyle,” Barbara recalled.

Now that the transition is over, the couple enthusiastically seconds this advice. “To our peers who are on the fence, I would say, based on my own experience, it is better to move here five years early than one day late,” Gil said. “I couldn’t agree more,” Barbara added. “We are enjoying the wonderful lifestyle we have here, and we know that the care here is excellent if and when we need it.”

An alumna of Vassar College, Barbara married Gil on her graduation day. The couple eventually settled in Gladwyne, where they raised two sons and a daughter. While Barbara was a full-time wife and mother, she always made time to give back to her community.

For more than 40 years, Barbara worked on the Vassar Show House Scholarship program. The group partnered with interior designers and landscapers to redecorate estate homes and gardens for public tours. “It was a wonderful experience, and we all became very close friends,” Barbara said. “During our time together, we raised almost four million dollars for scholarships.”

As part of another unique partnership, Barbara became a founding board member of the first hospice program in the Philadelphia area. “Hospice really is a remarkable program,” she said, recalling as one of her most memorable experiences her direct volunteer work with a young family.

A native of Philadelphia and an avid sports fan, Gil’s career path has reflected his many passions. An Army Veteran who served during WW II, Gil graduated from Temple University and Boston University Law School. His varied and prestigious work history has included high-ranking positions in Philadelphia city government and positions as a law firm partner, a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, and president and CEO of the National Hockey League (NHL) – just to name a few.

While he found all his various careers rewarding, his work with the NHL married his passion for law with his love for sports. “Whatever I was doing was my favorite at the time, but being involved with the NHL was probably the thing I most identified with,” Gil said.

While he was never a hockey player himself, Gil has always been a huge fan and getting the opportunity to serve as the president of the NHL was an enormous honor. Gil loved working with the players and coaches and advancing the game. After retiring, he wrote the book POWER PLAYS—An Inside Look at the Big Business of the National Hockey League.

As for their lifestyle today, the Steins are enjoying a mix of new and old interests with lots of new friends. Barbara, a self-proclaimed “professional volunteer,” is still pursuing her passion for giving back. She has joined Waverly’s marketing, special events and movie committees. She also participates in the daily physical activity options, ranging from aquatics to line dancing.

Gil continues to work part-time as an adjunct professor of sports law at Villanova University Law School. He is also using his newfound free time to pursue volunteer activities. In fact, he recently became the editor of the Waverly Heights monthly magazine, Waverly Window. He also participates in Waverly’s putting competition and is a member of the traveling putting team.

“The thing I like best about living here is that you can continue to live the life you were living before, or if you want to get involved, there are myriad activities available,” Gil said. “We’ve always had a nice social life,” Barbara added. “The difference is now it is all right here—right outside our door.”

In fact, the Steins knew almost immediately that they would be most comfortable at Waverly Heights. When considering a life care community, they looked at nearly all of the local options, but always felt at home at Waverly.

“Beauty is terribly important to me; I love green space, and this community is just outstanding in that area,” Barbara said. Gil concurred, “We were very attracted to the natural beauty and lovely living accommodations, and once we came here, we found the activities were just wonderful as well.”

The activities and the people have made what is undoubtedly a picturesque location a true home for the Steins. “The biggest thing we have here is a sense of community,” Barbara said. “The residents and staff are there for each other, and it is just a really warm environment.”

Having found that sense of community that is missing in so much of adult life, the Steins have never looked back. “So many people tell us that they are not ready to move, but I’m not really sure what that means,” Barbara said. As a trained social worker with a Master’s in Social Services from Bryn Mawr College, Barbara saw firsthand the importance of planning for one’s later years. She had been an advocate of lifecare communities long before considering their own move; however, she could have never dreamt how much moving would enrich their quality of life.

From pursuing beloved activities to hosting new friends, the Steins are fully enjoying everything that Waverly Heights has to offer. When they were researching life care communities, they thought they were giving a gift to their children. When they moved, they realized that the gift was really for them—and that it just keeps giving. Today, the Steins are thrilled to be literally living in the present.

The Schoenbergs’ journey began with a blind date when Leone was a freshman at Syracuse. As their relationship progressed, she eventually transferred schools in order to start a life with him.

“I fell wildly in love with Malcolm,” she said. “We married and then I started at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.”

With his degree in electrical engineering from MIT, Malcolm had worked for three large national companies until he came upon the opportunity to join a national investment banking firm in New York, where he worked for 21 years.

“It was very demanding, but very exciting,” he said. “I enjoyed building relationships with investors and doing what was best for them; it was a very rewarding career.”

Leone, on the other hand, enjoyed devoting her time to their three sons in addition to creating works as a fiber artist. She also took pride in getting involved with different causes from participating in peace organizations to managing a historic house in Ft. Washington, Pa.

“In the 30-40 years following graduation, I was a volunteer,” she said. In fact, the couple has participated in numerous organizations throughout their lives including the Highlands Historical Society, Montgomery County SPCA and the Visiting Nurses Association Community Services.

While Malcolm has also enjoyed fox hunting and skiing for 25 years, the couple has utilized much of their free time for traveling, their first trip being to Europe in 1953. “We have done about 40-45 trips and cruises all over the world,” said Malcolm. “We’ve visited a lot of wonderful and beautiful places.” Among their array of excursions, the Schoenbergs said their most interesting adventure was in 1982, when they spent three weeks in the People’s Republic of China.

Although the couple knew they always had their wonderful family home to return to when traveling, the time eventually came for them to plan ahead for their potential future needs. Their home of 44 years covered 20 acres of land and they each knew if something were to happen to the other, neither spouse could manage it all alone.

“We wanted a maintenance-free lifestyle,” said Leone. “There had also been the experience with my mother needing care, so we wanted to solve that problem out of fairness to our children.”

As a result, the Schoenbergs proceeded to explore different CCRCs throughout eastern Pennsylvania. It was the community of Waverly Heights that particularly stood out to the couple.

“I had always said while I would be willing to move, I didn’t want to change my lifestyle having worked hard for many years,” said Malcolm. “We only found a few places that met the standards that I wanted and Waverly was one of them.”

When the opportunity arose to move in, the Schoenbergs did not hesitate to secure their spot in the community, and they have enjoyed life ever since for over a decade. “It’s a very easy lifestyle,” said Leone. “The thing that appealed to me was that it’s not a competitive community; it’s very relaxed, yet busy, and very friendly and caring.”

What has been especially important to the couple is having the ability to remain active on their own terms and maintain outside pursuits. “There are about 50 volunteer committees here. You can be as active or inactive as you want,” said Leone.

As Malcolm still assists a few of his past clients and continues his 26-year role with the Board of Directors for the SPCA, he was elected to the Board of the Waverly Heights Residents’ Association in 2001 and became president for two terms. In addition to serving on three other committees, he was elected to the community’s Board of Trustees. Like her husband, Leone has been a member of the Residents’ Association Board and now co-chairs the Windfall resale shop which earns money for activities and programs. She is also a member of other committees, including the Trips and Tours Committee, and writes for the community’s magazine, The Waverly Window.

The couple has even expanded their volunteer efforts by participating in a community outreach program organized by Philadelphia Contact Reassurance. “We make telephone calls and reach out to people in the Philadelphia area who live alone and may not have contact with anyone else,” said Leone. “One of us in the 20-member group will call them every morning to see how they are, and chat with them for a few minutes.”

Even with their outside affiliations and involvement in onsite organizations and programs, the Schoenbergs still make time to enjoy the various activities the community has to offer.

“I play Wimbledon croquet and we attend lectures, concerts and parties during the month,” said Malcolm. “There is a great social life here with our fellow residents who are very friendly people.”

According to the couple, that friendliness also extends to the staff at Waverly. “They are wonderful. I can’t praise them enough,” said Leone.
For the Schoenbergs, having excellent healthcare was their first priority when making the move and knowing they have such a supportive staff only furthers their peace of mind with Waverly’s personal care and skilled nursing services. In fact, its skilled nursing center, Muirfield, which was renovated and expanded in 2010, has received “deficiency-free” surveys for the past three consecutive years, an achievement rarely seen in U.S. nursing homes.

And Malcolm and Leone are in no way surprised by this since he stayed at the center following an accident. “The healthcare is marvelous, and so convenient,” said Leone. “Muirfield is just a couple minutes away from our villa, so I could walk to see Malcolm and have my meals with him.”

When the Schoenbergs decided to look into a senior housing option, they wanted great healthcare and did not want to sacrifice their busy schedules. Instead, they have found so much more at a community where they not only have a sense of security, but their energetic lifestyles have flourished.

“One of the best decisions we ever made was moving to Waverly Heights,” said Leone.