BARBARA AND STEVE BYER

A GRACIOUS WELCOMING AND MANY NEW FRIENDS

When our good friends Kent Mayfield and Jack Ford told us they were moving to Saint John’s On The Lake, I thought to myself, “Good for them but not for us.”

A few years later, they invited us to come to Milwaukee from Madison to enjoy lunch and see their new home. The beautiful decor and lovely art in the lobby gallery delighted us. Lunch was delicious. Medical support, if needed, was definitely a good idea. And a few of the upcoming program descriptions seemed informative and enjoyable. We drove past a community in Evanston, but the exterior was so unappealing we didn’t even make an appointment to visit. Friends of ours who had decided on Saint John’s had checked out 21 different communities across the country. We asked ourselves, “Why look anywhere else? If it was good enough for our friends after all their research, why should we go elsewhere?”

Within just a few weeks, we’d called a realtor and told the children of our plans. What we never expected was the gracious welcoming, the many new friends we would make, the end to a sense of isolation we never realized we were experiencing. Perhaps the best message I can share is from our son Matt who recently said, “I knew moving to Saint John’s was going to be great for you. What I didn’t realize is how much better I would feel knowing you are both in a wonderful place.”

Barbara & Steve with a beautiful wildlife painting by Steve.