Fall 2011 - Presbyterian Homes & Services

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The Heart of the North Woods Heartwood resident, Elynn Niles, dedicates her time, talent and treasure to benefit her community. Elynn in the garden she planted in memory of David and their son, Scott. Elynn Niles and her husband David had long planned to build a cabin “up north” to live in when they retired. “We didn’t have to build it,” said Elynn. “We came to Heartwood instead. This is our North Woods cabin.” They arrived August 2009, shortly after Heartwood opened. “We fell in love with the place the minute we walked through the door,” Elynn remembers. “It’s so beautiful here.” Elynn looks out the windows of her Terrace apartment to the tree-lined walking path that circles a pond. She enjoys the solitude of the community and its proximity to nature where deer wander out of the pine forest and into her view. Within steps from Elynn’s patio door is a perennial garden that she and a neighbor planted and tend. A bench and sign let others know that the garden is in memory of David and their son, Scott. David passed away in July 2010, 12 days after being diagnosed with cancer. His memorial service was the first held in Heartwood’s Conference Center. Military honors were performed across the lawn by a veterans’ rifle squad, and the Heartwood community wrapped its arms around Elynn to comfort her. “Everybody was wonderful,” she said. “There isn’t anyone here who hasn’t lost someone close to them. So they understand and surrounded me with support and encouragement.” Scott, their only child, passed away just two years before his father. Scott had cerebral palsy and throughout his 39 years needed their full-time support. “He was our joy and blessing,” said Elynn. When he was 21, Scott moved into a group home 3 miles from the Farmstead, a PHS community in Andover, MN. Elynn and David moved into a cottage at the Farmstead in 2005 to simplify their lives and be near Scott. “We had only our son and no other family for support,” Elynn deduced. “The Farmstead brought us near our son and had the support we needed for years to come.” While they lived at The Farmstead, David and Elynn called on Kent Osterman, Presbyterian Homes Foundation Development Director, to establish a charitable gift annuity to support the future work of PHS. 10 FALL 2011
In the months following Scott’s death, Elynn and David grieved their loss, but also found themselves able to relocate north as they had dreamed. Once at Heartwood, it did not take them long to become acquainted and get involved. They invested their time in forming the culture of the new community. David initiated the building and stocking of the library and volunteered to drive residents to medical appointments, church and shopping in the 6-passenger mini-van used by Heartwood. David considered the little van far from adequate for a growing community and Elynn agreed. Before David was ill, he and Elynn envisioned Heartwood having its own full-sized van. “We were told it typically takes 7 to 10 years for a PHS community to raise funds for a van. We didn’t want Heartwood to wait that long.” David was committed to the goal that Heartwood would have its van in 5 years. “When he died, I knew that I could carry forward his vision.” Elynn agreed to serve as the resident representative on a committee to raise funds and make plans for a van at Heartwood. She set up a memorial fund in her husband's name, through the Presbyterian Homes Foundation, to initiate a fundraising campaign in hopes that others would join her to meet the goal of $100,000 to purchase and operate the van. Heartwood is more than two-thirds towards its goal and expects to purchase the van this fall. Elynn communicates fundraising progress by updating the large bulletin board in Heartwood's Grand Lodge dedicated to the van campaign. She sees the enthusiasm rising with the dollar totals and “The van will allow us who live at Heartwood to enjoy all the benefits of Crosby and the North Woods, and we can go together,” Elynn said. A Christian all her life, and never one to be idle, Elynn has served as women’s Bible study leader at Heartwood for the past year. “We’re just a little group of girlfriends who all support each other," she said. "It's our time to come together with each other and with scripture.” She finds that the Bible study has been a way for newcomers to make friends and feel a sense of belonging. “Without immediate family,” she said, “Heartwood is my family.” “Even facing loss, I look for joy,” Elynn says. “David's last words to me were, ‘You’ll be okay, Elynn, because you live at Heartwood. And I know you’ll do everything to make this the best possible place to live.’” ~ Cynthia L. Ray To donate to the Heartwood Van fund or support any PHS community, contact the Presbyterian Homes Foundation at 651-631-6132 or email giving@preshomes.org Elynn and David Niles in October 2009.
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Fall 2011 - Presbyterian Homes & Services

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