"Gardening just puts life back into me." Royal Park Place Community
Their bond began with a shared love of soil, sun, and service. “I told Carrie, the Life Enrichment Director, ‘I need to find a purpose,’” Becky recalls. “So, we started with the garden.” And that garden, with its bursts of color and quiet beauty, became much more than a patch of flowers. It became a lifeline.
Becky developed her lifelong love of cultivating things at an early age, thanks to her mother, who taught her from trellised vegetables to blue-ribbon fair entries. She even earned a degree in horticulture after taking four garden classes in Niles, Michigan.
Marilyn’s passion for gardening also goes back to childhood. “My twin brother and I used to grow vegetables and sell them around the lake in the summer. People couldn’t resist two kids with fresh produce.” Marilyn and her twin brother were both born after her mother remarried, following the death of her first husband. “My sister was 15 years older than me, and another brother was 10 years older."
After retiring to a scenic stretch of land on the Pere Marquette River, Marilyn turned her driveway into a floral showstopper. “People would stop and take pictures,” she says. “I had roses, African violets; just gorgeous.” Lilac bushes sealed the deal when she and her husband purchased their home. “I grew up with lilacs on the farm. I knew that place was meant to be ours.”
Their paths eventually led to Royal Park Place, each under different circumstances. Both women discovered that, despite the challenges of aging and health setbacks, gardening provided healing, beauty, and purpose.
“I’m not one for bingo,” Becky admits. “I needed something that felt meaningful. The garden gave me that.” Marilyn agrees. “Gardening just puts life back into me. It gives me something to care for.”
Today, they not only tend to flowers but also to each other and their neighbors. Marilyn is often seen helping fellow residents get to dinner or bingo, guiding a wheelchair with compassion and cheer. “I always say I’m glad to be on this end of the wheelchair,” she said. “It’s a joy to help.”
Both women have weathered storms. “I praise God all the time,” Marilyn says. “For healing and the people here.”
Their lives are filled with joys. Marilyn is an animal lover (especially cats), a skilled knitter, and finds purpose in creating baby blankets for ministry. “That’s my ministry,” she says. “To give.”
Becky bakes pies and enjoys watching the ducks on her balcony when caring for her plants. “We even talked about offering a little class to help residents pick out the right flowers—shade versus sun, that kind of thing,” says Becky. “Maybe next year.”
When asked what they love most about Royal Park Place, both hesitate. Not because they’re unsure, but because it’s hard to choose.
For Marilyn, Royal Park Place is more than a residence. “It feels like home to me,” she said. “I love this place—the atmosphere, the people. We have good dinners, good entertainment, and birthday celebrations. It’s so nice for people who don’t get out much.”
Becky agrees. “The entertainment, the celebrations—those little things really matter,” she said. She especially appreciates the evening worship services: “The pastors are great, the music is beautiful.”
Both women stay active in their own way. Marilyn has sung at services. Becky enjoys the worship and gives a shout-out to Sarah in the exercise room, calling her “really good at what she does.” And they both appreciate the practical support that helps them maintain their independence. “I love that they take us to the grocery store and Dollar Tree,” Marilyn said. “It’s so helpful when you can’t drive anymore.”
Marilyn’s warmth and positivity radiate through everything she does. Her faith guides her, and her daily prayer is as heartfelt as it is simple:
“I ask God to bless me and bless others. And then I tell Him—I ask God to make me a blessing for somebody else too.”
For these two friends, it’s not just about planting seeds in the soil. It’s about planting kindness, faith, and beauty in the everyday lives of those around them, and watching it bloom.
