"Right where I'm meant to be" Royal Park Place Community
“I was outside during a snowstorm, wind blowing, snow piling up, trying to clear my driveway with a snowblower,” Harlan remembers. “I was 85. And I thought, ‘What am I doing this for?’”
He’d known about Royal Park Place for years. In fact, he’d preached there on occasion and visited members of his church who had moved in. He and his wife had even once considered joining the waitlist, but her health challenges, including dementia and a failing heart valve, made that move impractical. After her passing, Harlan kept his name in the system but didn’t expect anything to come of it so soon.
Then, in late 2024, the call came: a two-bedroom apartment was available. His daughter accompanied him on the tour of the space. “She said, ‘Dad, this might be the right time. You don’t know when your name will come up again.’” They made the decision, and he moved in on January 10.
Shortly afterward, his doctor informed him that his cancer had progressed beyond his lymph nodes to his bones and spine. Harlan began a rigorous course of chemotherapy: eight treatments, three weeks apart. “I didn’t know what was coming,” he said. “But I believe God did. And I’m so glad I made the move when I did. This place has been a godsend.”
Despite health setbacks, Harlan remains engaged and independent. He still drives, plans short trips with his family (including a recent reunion in Wisconsin), and plays nine holes of golf with a friend who’s nearly 90. “We’re just two guys renting a cart, taking our time,” he laughs. “It’s not about the score anymore. It’s about being outside.”
He’s also found comfort in the rhythm of life at Royal Park. The meals, the supportive staff, and the sense of community have all helped him adjust to life without his wife. “After she passed, I’d come home and catch myself wanting to tell her something. But she wasn’t there. That’s when the silence hits.”
Now, instead of silence, there are conversations in the hallway, shared tables at breakfast, and even choir rehearsals and Wii bowling. “I haven’t made a team yet, but I’m a sub,” he says with a smile.
One of the most surprising moments since moving in? A full-circle moment 65 years in the making.
“When I first met my wife at Dordt College, she told me she'd been dating a guy named Gus back home in Wisconsin,” Harlan says. “Well, not long after moving in, I sat down at a table and heard someone call the man next to me ‘Gus.’ I looked at him and said, ‘Is your last name VanderVeen?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ I told him, ‘You dated my wife before I did.’”
They laughed, shook hands, and have become friends ever since.
“It’s one in a million,” Harlan says. “What are the chances I’d be living in the same place with the guy who once dated my wife, sixty-five years later, in a different state?”
For Harlan, Royal Park Place isn’t just a comfortable apartment or a convenient location; it’s a place of peace, community, and gentle purpose. “I’m not preaching anymore, and I’ve stepped back from a lot,” he says. “But I still participate. I still worship. I still show up.”
And for now, that’s enough.
