“I graduated from hospice care three years ago. They took me off my medications, and I got better! That’s when Peter and I moved into The Park Danforth. We love it here.”

“I was a social worker and gestalt therapist. This career opened me up and broadened me to a lot of things. After working in various mental health and service settings, I went into private practice and absolutely loved it. I finally had the time to really know my clients.”

“My philosophy… Think about it tonight and make your decision tomorrow morning.”

“A special time was when we took a motorcycle tour of Europe. We would stay in different castles. Something I thought I’d never do. We were the oldest ones on the tour, and we were always in the back. I don’t like danger a whole lot, but I do like adventure!”

“I particularly like the fact of The Park Danforth being a nonprofit and the HUD option for people. I’m a big social justice person, and having the HUD accessibility and us all being part of the same community is really special here.”

“I never thought of being a nurse until my senior year in high school. A friend told me about nursing, and I decided immediately that it was for me. My mother wanted me to go to St. Joseph’s College where I had a scholarship, but I persisted in my goal of becoming a nurse. I always considered my work in nursing as my ministry. I think I wanted to get into the heart of life – connect with real life."

“Don’t fear aging. It is another stage of life, and it has a great deal of richness and beauty and sadness too. I’ve lost my five closest friends, my inner circle. I’m on the bereavement ministry at church and go to a lot of funerals. My younger brother says I go to so many funerals I don’t have time for my own!”

“I’ve never been bored a day in my life!”

“My neighbors at The Park Danforth know me as a social butterfly.”

“I have many fond memories, but one that stands out is my move to Greenwich Village in NYC at 18. My aunt invited me for a visit, and I fell in love and stayed! I loved everything about it, especially the night life.”

"I am very happy to be at Park Danforth as this is my "neighborhood".  I have lived in Portland all my life and spent my schooling from Kindergarten through College was on Stevens Avenue."

"Here I have met up with long-time friends and been happy to meet new ones.  The staff here is very helpful and I enjoy the many activities that are available for us."

"My son and daughter and three of my five grandchildren live near by and I am able to visit with them often.  Family, music, church and Eastern Star have been a large part of my life and I am still able to enjoy them."

“I had two big careers. My background was in municipal finance. My first was finance director for the town of Scarborough and later for the Portland Metro where I was GM for 13 years.”

“Then I wanted to make a change. I hired a holistic career counselor, and, in one hour, we decided that I wanted to run a bed and breakfast, in an urban setting, and for adults only. I found an old, dilapidated Queen Anne House to renovate, and ran it for nine years. It was a great opportunity, meeting people from all over the world. I even visited some, including a trip to Israel.”

“I love to knit. I do Scandinavian sweaters which are quite complicated. I’ve knitted sweaters for everyone in the family.”

“My Dad was from Denmark, and his philosophy was that you have to work, work, work. I’ve always said that I want to live as long as I am productive. Now in a place like this, I really appreciate my health. I knew before I moved in that I would be happy here. I never look back.”

“I am a master gardener, and I was doing it all myself. I had fifty rose bushes. And an eight-room house. I told my family I was thinking of moving, and they jumped for joy. They loved it. They said what a relief. So, I put my house on the market, and it sold in two days.”

“I had several friends at The Park Danforth, so it was a community for me before I moved in. I needed security, too. I am a volunteer and do a lot of outreach work. This morning, I made PBJ sandwiches for people in need. I like being part of this community.”

“Roses are my favorite. They are very showy. I used to belong to the Maine Rose Society. I have a hybrid tea, a double knockout, and a floribunda.”

“I worked at Maine Medical Center, and my job was helping patients get their bills paid. Patients are sick. They don’t want to deal with insurance companies. They are trying to recuperate. My job was to work with them, understand their situations, and try to get the insurance company to pay their bills. I had a way of calming people in talking to them.”

“Family means everything to me. I have a son and daughter, and two grandsons. My oldest just became a fire chief. He’s only 30. He always wanted to be a fireman even when I was cuddling him as a little boy.”