by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Brad Whinery’s mother and father were pioneers in the Oklahoma funeral industry.
Sixty years later, Brad Whinery is still innovating how Oklahomans lay their loved ones to rest.
“What it’s provided us is an opportunity to help other people,” Whinery said of his family’s Oklahoma legacy. “We’ve always been a family that likes serving other people.”
Whinery firmly believes you should pay your last respects and not your life savings when a loved one passes.
He’s helped literally thousands of Oklahomans select a lasting and dignified cremation option that meets family needs and budgets.
And now Oklahoma’s first cremation-only garden is providing even more options for those laying their loved ones to rest.
REFLECTION POINTE
Whinery has helped honor and remember loved ones by integrating the beauty of nature with the beauty of the celebration of life at Reflection Pointe.
The first thing you’ll notice upon entering the grounds is the peaceful sound of water cascading over a granite wall. A waterfall is a magnificent feature that also serves as a permanent resting place. Your loved one’s ashes can be placed behind a black granite plaque on the backside of the waterfall.
The water pools into two reflection ponds surrounded by a garden with bistro-style seating. The waterfall offers several options for memorialization, including black granite plaques with room for an inscription or custom, engraved portrait. It is the only area where a bronze plate can be placed to give a person’s name with their birth and death date. The waterfall and garden area have limited availability.
Another area is known as the Ossuary.
Oklahoma artist Jay Hylton was commissioned to design the Ossuary at Reflection Pointe Gardens. The bronze and steel sculpture with the rotating ball reflects the perpetual connection to one another.
The Ossuary provides an elegant, affordable and permanent memorial option for cremated remains. Families place their loved one’s ashes into the Ossuary through the opening in the bronze ball. A family can add their loved one’s inscription to the surrounding granite cenotaph as a testament to their enduring legacy. The Ossuary and cenotaph also have limited availability.
Pet owners recognize they don’t just have an animal they have a family member.
Whinery recognizes that dogs and cats are much more than pets. They are important members of our families and deserve to mourned and be memorialized in a dignified way. The first of its kind in Oklahoma, Furever Friends is a special space where pets and pet lover’s remains can be buried separately or interred together. This special memorial garden is designed to represent the unique bond between pets and their owners.
The entire property is tranquil and uncluttered.
Built on an eight-acre wooded area, visitors can stroll through the park, reflect at the waterfall or sit on the grounds without walking around above-ground monuments like traditional cemeteries. As unique as the life you are remembering, Reflection Pointe also offers the options of scattering ashes in the meadow or placing them in the Ossuary or a niche inside the waterfall.
Reflection Pointe Gardens uses GPS technology and smart microchips to locate your loved ones’ site and access online memorials. Visitors simply download an app to their personal smartphone, or borrow a tablet from the office to self-navigate the gardens.
As you walk through the gardens you can view digital memorials of friends and loved ones that not only give more than important names and dates, but also a keen insight into the unique life presented.
Videos and photos bring a person’s memory back to the forefront of visitors.
“When someone visits a grave they’re not given a name and a date they’re given a life story,” Whinery said.
Last summer, Whinery invested in a 360-degree virtual property photo shoot. So far the feedback has been tremendous.
No matter where they live in the world, loved ones are able to virtually visit the final resting place any time they want.
And one of the best parts is services at Affordable Cremation and Reflection Pointe are often only a fraction of the cost of just a grave opening in the Oklahoma City metro.
That’s not including the traditional funeral-associated costs of buying a monument, a vault – not to mention a lot which easily boosts prices into the thousands of dollars.
It’s another milestone in the Whinery family’s commitment to helping loved ones pay their last respects and not their life savings.

by Vickie Jenkins

Meet Kristi Brewer Campbell, Owner and Director of Care Plus Home Care. “This is a family-owned, licensed and private duty home care agency,” Kristi says. “We have certified care-givers and assisted living services to individuals and couples that want to stay home and stay well.”
Here, you will find that services are offered 7 days a week up to 24 hours a day. Live-in services are also provided if around-the-clock care is needed. Their caregivers can assist with personal care and hygiene, take care of their medications, prepare meals, clean, do laundry and assist with transportation and errands.
The family-owned business understands how important it is to their clients to feel and remain safe in their own homes. “When people can stay in their home, it makes them feel good about themselves. They feel a bit of independence even though they have a caregiver come in to assist them with their specific needs,” Kristi says. “All of our caregivers are bonded, references are verified and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation checks are run on each caregiver prior to employment. That is a big plus and when it comes to feeling safe and secure, our clients really like that. It is a peace of mind for the client and their families. The caregivers are carefully screened and undergo a criminal background check. In addition, each caregiver is bonded, insured and covered under workers’ compensation insurance. It’s nice to know that they can trust their caregiver.”
Established in 1993, Care Plus Home Care agency provides an alternative for seniors wanting to remain independent and in the comfort of their own home. The mission here is to meet the home care needs of their clients with respect, compensation and services of the highest quality. They will operate in a manner that will appropriately reward their clients and employees alike. Presently, Care Plus Home Care has about 70 clients but the number varies. “All of our clients are treated with respect, and we want to make them feel like the most important person in the world,” Kristi comments.
Kristi Brewer Campbell and her mom Nancy Brewer add a little something special for their clients. “I remember when I was a little girl, there was an elderly lady, Maddox, that we would visit each week, just to stop by to see if she needed anything. I remember how my mom was so nice to her. Now, my mom continues caring for the elderly by making our clients a birthday cake on their special day. Mom has been baking birthday cakes for a little over 3 years now and she loves it,” Kristi said. “It certainly brightens their day,” she adds. “The two of us deliver the cakes to our clients and sometimes, it’s a big celebration with their families. Everyone in the family appreciates us bringing them a birthday cake. That makes us feel really good.”
“It was my mom’s idea to bake a cake for each of our clients on their birthdays,” Kristi said. Asking Nancy how she began baking cakes for the clients, she replied, “Of course it takes a little bit for the client to get used to the daily adjustments when they need assistance in their homes. There was a gentleman that was having a hard time with it and it just happened to be his birthday. Kristi and I decided to bake a cake for his birthday. When we delivered it to his home, his whole attitude changed, for the better. It was amazing! After that, I decided that I would bake a cake for all of the clients on their birthday,” she said with a smile.
“How does it make you feel when you deliver a cake to the clients?” I ask Nancy. “Well, it makes me feel really good to know that I am doing something for someone else and by me baking a cake for them, they really appreciate it. Sometimes, Kristi and I are greeted by their families and they want us to stay for the party, etc. It is such a great feeling knowing that such a simple gesture from us can mean so much to them.”
Kristi and Nancy deliver the cakes all over Oklahoma, wherever their clients are and they never miss a birthday. The cakes are usually 2 to 3 layers of luscious flavor upon the client’s request. Decorated with icing and a Happy Birthday on the top, it almost looks too good to eat! Nancy loves to bake and will continue to bake birthday cakes as long as she is able.
A big thank you to Don and Joan Herndon for allowing me to come into your home and a thank you to Kristi and Nancy for spending your time and effort to go out of your way to make seniors feel special.

by Bobby Anderson
Staff Writer

In the beginning, it was just Rodney Bivens and a half-ton pickup driving around to local safeway stores picking up canned goods.
Thirty-six years later, the Oklahoma Food Bank has grown into a world class organization meeting the needs of hundreds of thousands of people needing help putting food on the table.
“I always felt if it was right, you believed in something and put the time and resources into it … people would respond to it,” Bivens said.
Bivens, 70, is the founder and executive director of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. But he’ll pass the torch soon, leaving a legacy that has touched so many Oklahomans.
“Maybe a week ago I said this retirement gig is harder than I thought it would be,” Bivens said of all the attention he’s been getting since announcing his retirement. “Maybe I should have just written out of a resignation letter and gave my two weeks notice.”
His work with other nonprofit agencies led him to witness what hunger can do to individuals and families.
Out of his personal conviction that no one should have to face hunger in a nation blessed with so much abundance, he founded the organization in 1980.
Born and raised in Chickasha, Bivens and his three older brothers grew up on a farm just outside of town. After his father was disabled in a car accident, the Bivens’ family came to rely on friends, family and church to help them keep food on their table.
The experience left Bivens with a unique perspective on the impact of hunger on children and families in Oklahoma.
Under his leadership, the Regional Food Bank has grown rapidly to fulfill the need for food in central and western Oklahoma. In its first year of operation, the Regional Food Bank distributed 280,000 pounds of food.
Today, that amount is distributed in about three days.
The nonprofit provides enough food to feed more than 110,000 people every week with administrative and fundraising costs less than four percent.
Since its inception in 1980, the Regional Food Bank has distributed more than 545 million pounds of food to our hungry Oklahoma neighbors.
It’s food that goes out the door, but for Bivens it’s about so much more.
“You reminisce a little about things,” Bivens said of what’s been on his mind the last few weeks. “I think about the people we serve and the contacts we’ve had. It’s all about people, the people we serve, the folks who work here, the volunteers we have the board members and I’ve been privileged to get to know a lot of people. For me it always comes down to people.”
Bivens and his team at the Regional Food Bank developed one of the first rural distribution systems in the country, which has become a model for other food banks.
The Regional Food Bank currently serves more than 1,200 charitable feeding programs and schools throughout 53 counties in central and western Oklahoma, and distributes nationally donated product to four other food banks in Kansas, Texas and New Mexico, as well.
The Regional Food Bank was the first in the nation to implement an online inventory and agency ordering system with new technology for increased efficiency in food distribution.
Other efficiency initiatives implemented at the food bank facilitate energy conservation, solid waste reduction, air quality controls and sustainable living techniques for a more efficient operation.
Bivens has also shepherded other innovative programs into existence at the Regional Food Bank, including Urban Harvest, an urban sustainable agriculture program that aims to teach individuals and community groups to grow their own food.
The Regional Food Bank also implemented the Food for Kids Backpack Program, which provides a backpack full of weekend food to chronically hungry elementary children throughout the school year. The program began in 2003 as a pilot program in five urban elementary schools, and it now serves more than 18,500 children in 501 elementary schools.
There are now 124 school pantries in middle and high schools in Oklahoma serving the needs of nearly 5,000 chronically hungry students. As the founder of the 21st food bank in the U.S., Bivens has more than 35 years of experience fighting domestic hunger and he is seen as a leader in the food banking arena.
Bivens served on the board of directors of Feeding America for more than 12 years in various positions. He also helps in national disaster relief efforts, and in 2005, set up an emergency relief warehouse for Hurricane Katrina and Rita storm victims.
In less than four weeks, he helped to distribute more than 8 million pounds of relief supplies in the New Orleans area.
“I feel good about. I feel great about the organization and where we’re at,” Bivens said of retiring. “I know we’re going to continue to grow and throw in the community and the community will continue to respond to the need.”

Dear Savvy Senior, Can you help me calculate about how much my wife and I need to save for retirement? We are both in out late-fifties and want to see where we stand. Looking Ahead

Dear Looking,
Calculating an approximate number of how much you’ll need to save for a comfortable retirement is actually pretty easy, and doesn’t take long to do. It’s a simple, three-step process that includes estimating your future living expenses, tallying up your retirement income and calculating the difference. There are even a host of online calculators that can help you with this too.
Living Expenses
The first step is the most difficult – estimating your living expenses when you retire. If you want a quick ballpark estimate, figure around 75 to 85 percent of your current gross income. That’s what most people find they need to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement.
If you want a more precise estimate, track your current living expenses on a worksheet and deduct any costs you expect to go away or decline when you retire, and add whatever new ones you anticipate.
Costs you can scratch off your list include work-related expenses like commuting or lunches out, as well as the amount you’re socking away for retirement. You may also be able to deduct your mortgage if you expect to have it paid off by retirement, and your kid’s college expenses. Your income taxes should also be less.
On the other hand, some costs will probably go up when you retire, like health care, and depending on your interests you may spend a lot more on travel, golf or other hobbies. And, if you’re going to be retired for 20 or 30 years you also need to factor in the occasional big budget items like a new roof, furnace or car.
Tally Income
Step two is to calculate your retirement income. If you and/or your wife contribute to Social Security, go to ssa.gov/myaccount to get your personalized statement that estimates what your retirement benefits will be at age 62, full retirement age and when you turn 70.
In addition to Social Security, if you or your wife has a traditional pension plan from an employer, find out from the plan administrator how much you are likely to get when you retire. And, figure in any other income from other sources you expect to have, such as rental properties, part-time work, etc.
Calculate the Difference
The final step is to do the calculations. Subtract your annual living expenses from your annual retirement income. If your income alone can cover your bills, you’re all set. If not, you’ll need to tap your savings, including your 401(k) plans, IRAs, or other investments to make up the difference.
So, let’s say for example you need around $55,000 a year to meet your living expenses and pay taxes, and you and your wife expect to receive $30,000 a year from Social Security and other income. That leaves a $25,000 shortfall that you’ll need to pull from your nest egg each year ($55,000 – $30,000 = $25,000).
Then, depending on what age you want to retire, you need to multiply your shortfall by at least 25 if you want to retire at 60, 20 to retire at 65, and 17 to retire at 70 – or in this case that would equate to $625,000, $500,000 and $425,000, respectively.
Why 25, 20 and 17? Because that would allow you to pull 4 percent a year from your savings, which is a safe withdrawal strategy that in most cases will let your money last as long as you do.
If you need some help, there’s a bevy of free online retirement calculators to assist you, like the ones offered by T. Rowe Price (troweprice.com/retirement) or Financial Mentor (financialmentor.com/calculator).

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

A fall can happen in a split second, but it may take a lot of time, pain and rehabilitation to recover. Falls can cause injury at any age, but they can be especially devastating for seniors. In fact, falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among individuals over age 65.
About one-third of the population over age 65 falls each year. (Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control) This is a serious problem affecting seniors. As we age, the risk increases for injury from falling and these injuries may result in hospitalization and long term loss of freedom and independence. However, you can reduce your risk.
To help you, INTEGRIS Third Age Life Center in collaboration with INTEGRIS Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation, developed an educational program, Prevent Slips, Trips and Broken Hips. The program includes discussion of risk factors for falling and prevention of falls, and the opportunity for individual assessment of one’s risk for falling.
The program is available to senior groups in the metro Oklahoma City area. To schedule Prevent Slips, Trips and Broken Hips at your location, please contact Marge Jantzen, 405-717-9823, at INTEGRIS Third Age Life Center. For more information click here:  http://integrisok.com/senior-community-services-third-age-life-oklahoma

It’s a reality no mother ever wants to imagine; being discharged from the hospital and leaving your newborn baby behind.
That fear became real for Keely Mallory. On Jan. 17, with more than a month left in her pregnancy, Keely gave birth to her first child, Rhett.
“We had a talk the morning I gave birth to him. I told him he was only 35 weeks and that he needed to stay in there, but he was determined to make a grand entrance,” Keely joked.
Keely laughs about it now, but for almost a month she and her husband put their lives on hold to be by Rhett’s side in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City.
They found comfort in a surprising place: a tiny piece of handmade cloth in the shape of a heart. Rhett had an identical heart inside his neonatal incubator. Keely would wear or sleep with hers one night, before exchanging it with the heart in Rhett’s bassinet the next day. “The idea is that the mother’s or child’s scent rubs off on the cloth,” said Mercy Hospital Chaplain, Trisha Wiscombe, who helped implement the idea. “We found through research that scent plays a large role in bonding.”
In turn, the scent of her child may help release a flood of happy hormones in the mother that assist with milk production. For Keely, she said it also helped provide her with a sense of comfort and calm during a time that was often stressful.
“It was a way to have him at home when he couldn’t be,” Keely said. “It was so hard leaving him at the hospital every day, so to just be able to lay the cloth on my pillow at night was very comforting and helped with our transition.”
Each of the hearts is handmade by Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City volunteer Fran Thibedea, who estimates she’s made close to 200 so far. All mothers with children in the NICU receive them. The idea is also in place at other Mercy hospitals in Missouri.
Rhett was discharged from the hospital on Feb. 12. Both he and Keely are doing well.