"Grow Old Along with Me..."

Two Friends Exemplify a New Trend in Retirement Living

by Maggie Stark

For most, moving to a retirement community means moving with your spouse or by yourself. Occasionally relatives such as two sisters may make the move together. But once again, seniors today are changing the norm.

A new and growing trend finds long time friends making homes together within retirement communities. And Kendal at Oberlin is seeing this first hand.

In December Molly Kavanaugh, a Cleveland Plain Dealer journalist, wrote a feature story on two new Kendal residents who are examples of this current trend (Published 12/19/06). Marian Lott from Akron and Mary Lynne Grove from South Euclid are longtime friends and thought moving to Kendal together would be perfect for them.

Ironically, Marian and Mary Lynne met years ago at a nursing home in North Canton. Both had mothers living there and they became acquainted during their regular visits. A beautiful friendship grew from these on-going visits. After the death of both of their mothers, the friendship continued. They often spoke of their futures, one a widow and the other single, and decided that when the time came they would like to move to a retirement community together. That time came.

Their move was thought through carefully. They had two homes to dismantle and faced combining their favorite possessions, so they felt they needed more space than most. When the new cottages (Phase I of the Master Plan) were in the planning stages, Marian and Mary Lynne thought the style, floor plan, and added space fit their liking and lifestyle. They settled on a two bedroom/two bath.

This move between friends confirms what architect Charles Durrett, author of “Senior Co-housing” is seeing. There are already three communities built in the United States and at least a half dozen more being planned for seniors who are single and want to live with old friends or make new ones. He says many friends are realizing that friendship rather than golf courses will make for a happier home life.

As far as Marian and Mary Lynne are concerned, they have had a lot of fun selling both of their homes successfully, blending their belongings, meeting new friends, and creating a new home for themselves. A plaque hanging in Marian’s bedroom inscribed with a Robert Browning quote sums it up, “Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.”