Many Garlands members find new purpose as they pursue post-retirement passions on a volunteer basis. Meet some of the Garlands members for whom “giving back” and “paying it forward” are a big part of their inspired and engaging Garlands lifestyle.
Meet Garlands Member Joan King
When it came time to consider a retirement community, Joan King and her husband toured many other options, but, in the end, came right back to their own backyard and The Garlands.
Joan’s nursing career led her to a conference with noted psychologist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, author of internationally best-selling book, On Death and Dying, that ultimately led her career in a new direction – hospice care.
“Being a nurse for dying patients did not make me uncomfortable,” says Joan, “rather, I felt that caring for people at the end of their lives was almost a gift – it was, for me, the ultimate in nursing.”
A career hospice nurse, nurse manager, and eventually a Vice President of Nursing, in retirement, Joan volunteered her time at JourneyCare Hospice in Barrington and continued her Kübler-Ross-inspired life work of helping people face death with dignity and peace.
