Pecan Grove (www.pecan-grove.net) Pecan Grove and Senior Residence

We had several visits this month, starting with a holiday visit from Don and Becky Schroeder. They had labor day off so stopped in for the night. Here they are with Elsie in the entry way.

Elton’s son David has returned and decided to move in for a while to help with Elton. He helps with Elton’s appointments, works on whatever he can, and cheers up the place. Here he is on his newest toy, an electric unicycle.

We had a visit from our friends Wendall and Gillian Wilson, and Fred Adadjo. Fred returned to stay with us for a few days. He spent some time visiting those on the farm and those at Park Manor. Here they are in front of the piano.

September has been wetter than normal, and it still steaming hot. Everything is still growing like crazy, so we stay very busy. Here is a picture of a rainbow lighting up the sky, and Andray with a fish he caught and filleted, and lastly a turtle we caught crossing the road.

Kitty Kitty is still living in Alice’s old room and sometimes she tries to “pay rent”. These critters are usually dead, but this time she brought in a living snake! Here she is playing with her catch and Salena using her special tools to get rid of it.

Tomorrow (Oct 1) is Andray Howell’s 20th birthday but we celebrated today. Here he is with Joyce, Ronald and Dominique.

In August Ken and Kathy went to convention in France and then to Portugal. They showed pictures to the residents. Marie saw several people she had helped in the French islands. Esther and others saw many workers they know. All 7 current residents are in the picture below.

Resident Journals

Elton Cleveland

Elton is slowing down. With his son, David, here he has been getting more personal attention, which he thrives on. He still plays the piano when his feet aren’t bothering him, and enjoys sunbathing with Kitty Kitty. Here they are together in the entry way relaxing.

Alice Oetken

Alice has been taken off of physical therapy at Park Manor. This means she won’t not be returning to PG. She always enjoys her visitors and wants them to come back more often. Here she is with Elton, the Hoffmans, Fred and Gilbert.

Marie Mounce

Marie does well. She still loves to bake in the kitchen. Her favorites are corn bread and banana nut muffins. Here she is visiting Alice with a big grin.

Esther Duncan

Esther has been gone all month to conventions in Tennessee. She returned with good stories and thankfulness for getting to see her friends again. She said they all heard “very sound doctrine”. Here she is at convention with her classic cup of tea.

Elsie Schroeder

Elsie stays busy at the puzzle table, she is the mainstay of the puzzle crew. When Don and Becky come they always play a few rounds of Hand and Foot, which Elsie almost always wins.

Gwen Famer

Gwen is doing well, she has some eye trouble but is determined to not let it slow her down. She likes her optometrist and is positive about her eyesight staying about the same. Here she is visiting Alice.

Ronald Elliott

Ronald is slowing down but still does well. His iPhone has given its best but he’s beyond being able to use it. The staff is making calls for him if he needs, and he seems happy with this arrangement. Please feel free to call the main number if you want to speak with him. He’s looking forward to Georgetown Spanish and English.

Joyce Naber

Joyce stays about the same. She still struggles with her memory but she is set in a good routine that keeps her positive. She likes when people call to talk with her, although she doesn’t always remember who they are. Here she is again at Andray’s birthday lunch.

Fern Duncan and Gilbert Reese

Fern and Gilbert remain the same. Gilbert enjoys company but does not know who the visitors are. Fern seems to remember the residents better but is mostly quiet. Here’s Gilbert with Elton and Fern with Fred and Andray.

We appreciate your continued interest in our residents here. Please feel free to call our main number if you would like to chat with anyone of them.

August has been hot, which is not surprising given the heat wave all across the country. We had a handful of quick visits this month, and one week long visit. Elsie’s daughter Carol and Granddaughter Ameillia Aarestad came for a nice visit. They bought all our ladies flowers, which they were overjoyed to pose with. Here they are with their flowers, the board that Ameillia left us and again everyone at the dinner table.

The only birthday this month was Fern who turned 94. Salena decided that it would be nice to take everyone to Park Manor nursing home to see her, Gilbert and Alice for a birthday treat. Here she is with her birthday bouquet, and again with Joyce and Marie encouraging her to eat her dessert.

Elton’s son, David, came for a week long visit to help with taking him to appointments and keeping him company. Here they are with everyone that went to Park Manor enjoying Elton’s favorite restaurant, Golden Corral, and again at PG with Elton.

Ken and Kathy had the grandkids for a few days so they brought them to the center to play. Here they are on the floor shooting marbles.

Unfortunately, our dryers have been acting up these past few months. It finally came time to replace the worst one, and Kent Opel happily obliged to help put it in. Here he is triumphant with his granddaughter, Abigail.

With all this heat, after all the rain, nature has been abounding everywhere. Here is a close up of our new sunflower, a fairy ring of mushrooms, and Andray with a dead snake we found in the building.

Ken and Kathy have been moving out of their house so that the Furrows could move in. Which means the center has received some refreshing new furniture. Here are Ronald and Marie trying out the “new” chairs.

Speaking of the Newman’s moving, here is a quick shot of the progress on going at the cabin.

Resident Journals

Esther Duncan

Esther was invited to attend the conventions in Tennessee and Kentucky this month. She has been helping Joyce a lot in the evenings, brushing her hair and getting her ready for bed. Here she is with her latest dessert, white cake with cream and strawberry filling.

Marie Mounce

Marie got covid this month. She had mild symptoms such as soar throat and cough, but some interesting side effects like loss of taste. She had to isolate for a several days. Once better, she went to Park Manor with the rest of the residents for Fern’s birthday. Here she is with Gilbert and Joyce.

Gwen Farmer

Gwen does well as usual. She continues to have correspondence with several overseas, and daily works on the puzzle with Elsie or Joyce. She was away at an appointment when the ladies got their flowers, so here she is with hers in her room.

Elsie Schroeder

Elsie does well still, she especially enjoys when her family comes for long visits. She was pleased to get help on the puzzle from her daughter, and likes to walk with her visitors around the circle. Here she is with Gwen and Gilbert at Park Manor.

Elton Cleveland

Elton has been struggling with foot and bladder issues. He has gotten a few treatments recently that seem to be helping. Here he is during his new routine of sitting outside to warm up after every meal, and listening to David play at Park Manor.

Ronald Elliott

Ronald is still about the same. He showed us a spot on his ankle that was swollen and hot to the touch, which he said was quite painful. Then he recently had several skin cancer spots removed from his nose and ear. He had a very quick visit from Wendall Wilson again. Wendall said he was working in Conroe and may be around more often. Here he is helping Ronald to get back to his room, and Ronald after his cancer removal.

Joyce Naber

Joyce needs our help a little more these days. At night Esther or the staff have been helping her with her hair, and throughout the week the staff tries to remind her to shower. As ever, she takes clear directions well and is happy to comply. She recently was gifted a Horse Lamp by the Opels, which she was pleased to show to others. Here she is with Alice.

Alice Oetken

Alice is making some progress with physical therapy. They said she could stand and walk at least fifteen feet on her own using a walker, and that she only needed some assistance with changing and the restroom. Here she is enjoying some flowers someone sent, and again smiling with Esther.

Fern Duncan and Gilbert Reese

Fern and Gilbert stay about the same. The staff at Park Manor wheel Gilbert over to visit Alice sometimes, which is sweet. He did not recognize most of the residents who came to visit, but was still talking with them. Fern was alert and seemed to recognize most of her visitors. We asked the staff at Park Manor to give Gilbert a hair cut. Here he is looking spiffy while talking with Esther.

We really appreciate your continued interest in the residents here.

Kenny

June has been a month of rejoicing, for different reasons. As many of you may know, Marilynn Frye passed away this month. It was truly a blessing that from the time she started hospice until she passed was short. If she had lingered on, her life would only have been pain and breathing difficulty. We will miss her humor and her kindness, but we know she has chosen the better part. Where she has gone we too hope to follow, and she has left a pristine example of how to do so.

Many came to Marilynn’s memorial service Saturday June 15th after she passed June 11. There were about 185 in attendance with many bringing dishes for pot luck afterwards. There were also close about 385 teleconference connections to listen to the service. Mona Reese, Esther Wahlin, Carl Hamilton, and Lyle Schober had the service. They recounted many sweet memories of their time with her, and expressed how much her life encouraged them to go deeper into prayer and thankfulness. Lyle later mentioned that she “preached her own funeral in life” which we can all agree with. Here are pictures of the chairs set up in the great room before the service, a picture during the service, and Marilynn’s portrait near some flowers.

The residents, staff, and friends here decided to hold a little burial for the spreading of Marilynn’s ashes at the pond. The idea was suggested by her brother, Doug Frye, and everyone was asked to mention a few words for her. We sang a hymn, everyone had a word, and then her ashes were poured out. Each one honored Marilynn by leaving a rose in the pond before finishing with another hymn. Here are some photos of the burial with everyone in attendance, the roses circling on the pond, her cremains box, and lastly when everyone was leaving.

As we mentioned earlier, we have had other reasons to rejoice this month. We had two birthdays back to back. First was Joyce Naber who turned 81 and the next day Gwen Farmer who turned 90! Here they are about to enjoy their cakes.

It has been hot and wet still, so nature has been showing its abundance. Here are pictures of a large Rat Snake Kenny found on the road, and some neighborly goats who come to graze the horse pasture.

Resident Journals

Marilynn Frye

Right up to the end Marilynn was receiving caring visitors. Her sister-in-law, Barb Frye’s sister, Mary Spinner, came right at the end to take care of her. Mary was the only one with her at the very end. Before that she had visits from Ellen Griswold, Brenda Husman, Fe Gatan and Sue Dawson, as well as some of the Newmans, Suttons and Uzzells. Here they are posing with her, and Mary posing with Kathy in the entry way.

Alice Oetken

Alice is doing well, she sometimes gets confused with her phone and how to operate it. Other than that, she remains happy to see all our visitors and tries to spend as much time with them as possible. Here she is with Fe Gatan and Sue Dawson when they came to see Marilynn.

Ronald Elliott

Ronald is doing well, he still has trouble figuring out his phone and tablet but doesn’t give up. He received some visitors this month also, Ernie, Steve and Rita Blackburn. Here he is lost in thought on the patio and posing near the piano with his company.

Esther Duncan

Esther has been doing great, she is currently on a month long trip to Ireland. She is getting to spend time with her sister and family as well as go to two conventions. She has sent greetings and says how much fun she is having. Here she is joyfully embarking on her voyage and with her sister in Ireland.

Elsie Schroeder

Elsie has had a few visits from her family this month. First was her granddaughter, Candace Sandon and her three children AJ, Miles, and Brynna. Then Elsie’s grandson, Theron, came for a day with Angela and their three children Everett, Lewis, and Camille. Here they are fishing at the pond, and Miles with a fish he caught, and Elsie posing with Candace and her children.

Marie Mounce

Marie is doing the same, still loves to bring her Cajun experience into the kitchen. This time she made Shrimp Scampi over noodles. Here she is with her creation, and the pasta by itself.

Elton Cleveland

Elton is slowing down, mostly in the hearing and comprehension department. His son, David, came for a while to help him with this new transition. Here they both are at the burial.

Joyce Naber

Joyce is doing well, the routine here keeps her focused and happy. She also had a birthday right before Gwen and they enjoyed each others celebrations very much. Here she is with the puzzle crew at the puzzle table, and again at a different angle with her cake.

Gwen Farmer

Gwen had her 90th birthday this month and still shows no signs of slowing down. She loves to read the newspaper and spend hours doing puzzles with Joyce and Elsie. During her birthday lunch she told of her journey over to Korea and the conditions she traveled under. She then shared a Korean birthday custom with Kathy. Here she and Marie are folding the memorial service pamphlets for Marilynn’s service.

Fern Duncan and Gilbert Reese

Fern and Gilbert stay about the same. Fern is fairly responsive these days and she seems to recognize and appreciate her company. Salena takes her mail and reads it to her, which usually brings a smile. Here she is with Rita Blackburn, and then both Gilbert and herself with Ronald, then today with Kathy and Marie.

Thank you for your continued interest in us here.

Kenny and Ken