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Bill's Story

Stone Hearth allowed me to get a good night's sleep for the first time in months... -Barbara Wilkinson

Bill's story...

Bill was born in New Jersey, lived in Florida and attended Harvard University before traveling to France. While in Paris he was drafted into the military and became a top French English interpreter. His tour of duty sent him to Germany where he then became a German English interpreter. Bill ended up speaking five different languages


We knew Bill to have a great love and talent for photography. Bill was a long-time resident in Stone Hearth's memory community. He was especially kindhearted and a true gentleman who handled his dementia with admirable grace.



Bill was lovingly attended to by his daughters. Especially Barbara who drove from Curtis weekly to visit. Thank you, Barbara, for letting us share your stories.


Barbara's story about her father, Bill... Stone Hearth allowed me to get a good night’s sleep for the first time in months. When my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and needed full time care I wanted to find a place that would care for him both physically and emotionally. I looked at Memory care units in the area, visited them, and left feeling depressed. I felt like I would be "warehousing" him in a sterile environment without the social interaction and stimulation that is so vital for all humans.


Then I heard about Stone Hearth... I went and visited the facility and within a minute knew this was the place for Dad. The atmosphere was calm and comfortable, the staff was friendly. Entering the Memory Care unit was refreshing as it was a "homelike" environment; there were couches, comfortable chairs, areas for crafts and social interactions. The staff to resident ratio ensured one on one attention. I watched the staff interact with the residents and saw genuine interest, engagement, and caring, I saw patience and understanding, I saw what I wanted for my Dad.


The night after Dad moved in I slept for the first time in months; I just knew he was well cared for and he was safe. During his time there (almost 4 1/2 years) I visited at least once a week and was just able to enjoy him, we went for walks, drives, sat and talked, cared for the plants in the balcony area, and enjoyed the ice cream available. The staff in the Memory Care unit is trained to care for what my Dad was going through, how to understand what I was going through, how to differentiate between what was important to him and what, in the big scheme, did not matter. Dad was treated with respect, dignity, and genuine compassion by those that took care of him. When Dad passed, they helped me process my grief even as I knew they were also grieving. To this day I still stop by when I'm in the area to touch base with the people who were so important to my Dad and I, to the people who taught me so much about myself. 





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