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When Jeanne Nixon arrived at Park Place of Elmhurst more than five years ago, she didn’t expect to stay long. She had been through a tough stretch: hospitalizations, memory setbacks, and a long recovery from shingles, and her daughters just wanted to make sure she wasn’t alone. “I thought I’d be here a week,” Jeanne says with a wry smile. “But it felt right. And it still does.”…

Gus VanderVeen knows a thing or two about service. A Vietnam-era veteran, Gus’s life journey has been shaped by duty, devotion, and a deep-rooted faith. He speaks of his military service with quiet humility. “It changes you,” he says. “You carry it with you.” And that impact, while challenging to sum up in a single sentence, shows in the way Gus lives, with gratitude, reflection, and an enduring sense of purpose.…

After a long career in education, including teaching in Michigan’s prison system and serving as an academic consultant, Jane Boeve found her next chapter in the library at Royal Park Place. What began as simply “filling a need” has become a meaningful way to serve her community. …

When Nancy’s father, Tom Murphy, broke his hip the day after his 95th birthday, she didn’t realize that fall would change everything. After his hospital stay during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tom’s memory declined to the point where he could no longer live safely on his own.…