The Bishop Gray Inns Foundation helps those
in need enjoy the life they have earned
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Marge Dewey is a life-long
Episcopalian who attends All Saints Church, Winter Park.
With the help of a Foundation scholarship she is able to
live near her church and her friends. Behind her are
photos of her “adopted” sons, Eric and John. |
Helping others is the
heart and soul of the Episcopal Church.
For many years the Episcopal Church
has assisted its elderly members by providing retirement living
assistance through the Bishop Gray Inns Foundation Scholarship
program. The Foundation was established to fill a need by
helping older members of the church -- who have worked hard all
their lives -- afford quality retirement facilities or
apartments of their choice.
One such member is Marge Dewey, 82, who
lives at Winter Park Towers in Orlando. Marge, a former medical
secretary, retired in the early 90s. She has attended All Saints
Church since 1967 and joined the Episcopal Church in 1955.
Although she was able to maintain her own home for almost 10
years after retirement, several falls made it clear to her she
needed a safer, more manageable place to live. That was when the
Bishop Gray Inn in Davenport became her home for three years.
“I liked it there,” she said, “It had a
beautiful chapel.” But Marge missed being close to her home
church, All Saints, and friends in Orlando where she had spent
many years. After the Davenport facility was sold she was there
for about a year, but then took the opportunity to move to
Winter Park Towers with the help of the BGI Foundation and the
deacon at All Saints, Paul Jackson. The Towers are owned and
operated by Westminster Communities of Florida, a non-profit
organization with a covenant relationship with the Presbyterian
Church.
“The Lord is always there for you, although
when I was younger I didn’t think about it as much.” Marge said
of her love of God and the Episcopal church. “It means more to
me now. I like the ritual. Everyone’s very caring.”
Sitting in a chair in her comfortable
one-room “apartment” with her leg propped up on the small
cushioned seat of her walker, she explained that she had hurt
her foot and that the wound was slow to heal. She said she was
going to go to a special wound center for treatment soon. In
spite of her injury Marge smiled often and her quiet sociability
was very disarming. “I’m very easy to get along with,” she said
of herself. “I like people and I’m outgoing.” It is that quality
of friendliness and adaptability that has allowed her to enjoy
her retirement and the change from living alone or with a
friend, to getting along in the very different environment of a
large retirement facility.
Marge was originally from the Chicago area.
“I was adopted as a baby,” she said, and “my father passed away
when I was 13. While growing up we often used to come down to
St. Petersburg to visit family and friends.”
Eventually, at about age 30, Marge stayed
in Florida, working in various clinics and, eventually, in
Orlando Regional Medical Center’s prescription department. “I
would also moonlight for doctors,” she said. Her mother, she
said, passed away in 1959. Although she never married she became
very close to two young men who rented a mother-in-law apartment
from her for several years. She considers Eric and John to be
her “adopted” sons. Eric, she said proudly, is an interior
decorator, and John installs organs. Both men, and their
families, live in Orlando and play a big role in her life. Their
pictures adorn her walls, the same way any proud mother fills
the walls with photos of her children. The love and affection
she feels for them is evident in her voice when she speaks of
them. “I’m anxious to visit John and Eric when my foot is
healed,” she said.
Before she retired Marge loved to entertain
and considered herself “a gourmet cook.” She also spent time
gardening and especially loved to grow orchids.
She explained that when she moved to Bishop
Gray Inn in Davenport “downsizing was hard. I took what I needed
and liked the most.” In her room at Winter Park Towers, where
she has spent the past year, she has split the room into a
bedroom area and sitting area. There is an eclectic mix of
furnishings, pieces picked for their utility and sentimental
value – a pretty antique dresser, a table-turned-desk for
letter-writing, a comfortable sofa that faces the big glass
windows so you can watch the clouds drift by.
“It makes a difference being able to afford
to live in a nice place,” she said sincerely. BGI Foundation
picks up the costs where her insurance and other assets leave
off.
She said the dining rooms at Winter Park
Towers provide a variety of healthy food, and there are lots of
activities such as arts and crafts, classes, games and much
more. There is privacy if you want it and company when you want
that as well, she added. She said there is a button to push for
help during an emergency and a nurse is always on staff. Buses
are available if needed and there is a drugstore, bank and
beauty shop on the premises. “It’s a secure, lovely place to be.
Everyone is very helpful.”
As if to illustrate that fact, an
acquaintance of Marge’s arrives, enters the apartment pushing
her walker in front of her. On the walker is a plate of fresh
fruit and crackers for Marge so she wouldn’t have to go
downstairs to eat since her foot is still bothering her.
Marge attends church regularly at All
Saints. Friends pick her up, she said. The facility does offer a
communion service every month for those who need it. “There are
a number of Episcopalians and those of other faiths here,” she
said.
“God is in charge of your life, although
sometimes you don’t realize it,” Marge said intently, leaning
forward in her chair. She knows that her life has been blessed.
She has love, and faith and friendship. She has enriched the
Episcopal Church with her presence for many years, and the
church has now, in turn, helped to make her later years more
safe, secure and comfortable. It seems only right. After all,
helping others is what a Christian life is all about.
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