A special day long seminar will help persons losing their sight or blind and their families and friends. The Heartland Council of the Blind will present the Coping with Vision Loss Seminar on Saturday, August 19, 2017 in Oklahoma City.
Vice President of the Heartland Council of the Blind is Sandi Webster of Oklahoma City who lost her vision in 2002. Sandi said the seminar will provide essential tools and encouragement for persons losing their vision and their families and friends. “These people go through the stages of grief, but there is help,” Sandi said.
A previous seminar participant says she used the provided helps right away. “It was like attending a one stop shop. We met Vision, Mobility and Technology Specialists and were introduced to Support Systems. Break-out sessions are: Advocacy, Training for Family/Friends, Just for Men, Just for Women, Technology, Deaf/Blind Information and Visual Services Information. Cost of $20 for the seminar includes lunch, a Resources Notebook and a CD. Registration forms are available at www.hcbokc.org. Or register by calling Heartland Council of the Blind President Frances Poindexter at 405-642-1068. Registration must be received by Wednesday, August 16th. The seminar will be at the New Hope United Methodist Church at 11600 N. Council Rd., OKC, from 9 AM to 4 PM. Check-in begins at 8:30 AM.

What’s your favorite summertime memory? Village on the Park

I’ve got a lot but it would be the day I got married when I was 18. Kathy Ream

Going fishing about anywhere. I fished Texhoma and Eufaula when they were coming in. Raymond Leetrammell

I rode my horse every afternoon around our ranch. Evelyn Wilcoxson

Visiting my grandfather in Chandler. We would hitch the horse to the wagon and he would give us a quarter for a movie, popcorn, and a coke in town. Helen LaFevers

Article by Nikki Buckelew, Buckelew Realty Group’s Mature Moves Division with Keller Williams Realty. www.okcmaturemoves.com

In generations past, there simply weren’t many options when it came to where one would live out their retirement years. In fact, there were basically three choices: 1) Stay put in your own home, 2) live with your kids, or 3) move to a nursing home when “it was time.”
The landscape has certainly changed significantly in the last decade. Not only are people living longer, but retirees have more options than ever before as it relates to housing options. So many choices it can make your head spin!
Fewer people as of late are opting to stay in a home that is too large, too costly, or losing value due to neighborhood decline. Even fewer are electing to move in with their adult children. More and more seniors are taking a proactive approach concerning their retirement lifestyle, with the trend toward community living designed to support and encourage the independent lifestyle they value.
The new normal
Included in the available stock of senior living options are upscale luxury apartments catering to the active 55 and older crowd, as well as all-inclusive resort style properties resembling a cross between 5-star hotels and country clubs. Private residences including duplexes, cottages, garden homes, and villas are also on the rise, boasting neighborhood club houses with fitness and media rooms, walking paths, organized activities and trips, and more. All this and they even take care of your yard and maintenance.
For those needing a bit slower pace and maybe even a little help from time to time, there are supportive housing communities designed to help people remain autonomous and independent by providing non-medical assistance. Key attractors to these communities include 2-3 prepared meals a day, housekeeping services, rides to the doctor and local retail and grocery stores, and 24-hour concierge access. When needed, many of these communities can provide or arrange for assistance with dressing, bathing, and medications.
Of course there are still the communities equipped to care for those with chronic medical or mental illnesses or degenerative diseases. Unlike the independent and assisted living communities mentioned above, however, these longterm care facilities are ‘chosen’ by default only after other options have been ruled out.
Comparing options can be complicated
With all these options, especially the all-inclusive ones, the challenge is figuring out which communities have what you are looking for. More importantly, what services are offered and what the fees include. Each development has varied unit sizes and meal options, as well as ever-changing, healthcare options and activity programming.
Ownership may belong to a for-profit enterprise or operated by a not-for-profit organization. Some are affiliated with churches, universities, and local municipalities and each has it’s own unique philosophy of property management.
Taking proactive steps
The key to finding the right fit is investigating the various options available well in advance – long before you are ready to make a change. By doing so, you remain in the driver’s seat when it comes to your lifestyle choices, rather than leaving it to chance (or up to your kids).
Fortunately, senior adults have a variety of free educational opportunities in the metro area to choose from when it comes to learning the ins and outs of 55+ living options. Some events are hosted by senior living communities who offer optional campus tours directly following the educational program and others are held in event centers. The goal of these organizations and associated expert speakers is to help older adults and their trusted advisors navigate the sea of information related to senior living.

Below is a list of a few upcoming events (advanced registration required):

Candid Conversations: Senior Living Options – Epworth Villa Retirement Community – August 15th at 10am RSVP: 405-752-1200
How to Pay for Senior Living – Spanish Cove Retirement Village – August 31st at 10am RSVP: 405-354-5906
The Truth About Senior Living – OptionsMAPS3 Health & Wellness Center – September 14th at 10am & 2pm RSVP: 405-563-7501
Getting Real About Real Estate after Retirement – Concordia Life Care Community – October 24th at 2:30pm RSVP: 405-437-1414

By Darlene Franklin

Fifty books in with her latest novel, “Mermaid’s Song,” historical author Darlene Franklin is still going strong and looking forward to another fifty titles.
“I love finding a historical tidbit and teasing it into a story,” Franklin said. “I love growing a story from a character, an idea, a setting, an event. There is never enough time to tell them all.”
Franklin recently celebrated her Jubilee title, “Mermaid’s Song,” with 500 supporters joining her in an online Facebook gathering July 10.
The well-received story is an imaginative retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale, set on the shores of historic Maine with a shipwrecked Acadian beauty and her rescuer.
Franklin’s storytelling career took off in 2005 with “Romanian Rhapsody.” Her first historical novella, “Dressed in Scarlet,” finaled for the 2008 American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award as part of the Barbour novella collection, “Snowbound Colorado.”
“That gave me the courage to continue, and the market was wide open,” she said.
While relishing the afterglow of celebration, Franklin is committed to five additional novellas over the next year and will be contributing devotions to an upcoming nonfiction collection.
“At the moment, I’m writing this year’s Christmas romance, ‘The Christmas Child,’ to be released by Forget Me Not Romances this September,” Franklin said. “Apart from that, the door is wide open. I’m looking at writing a single-author devotional book, and maybe contemporary romance or a cozy mystery.”
When not writing best-selling fiction, Franklin pens a column for Book Fun Magazine, “The View Through My Door,” her unique perspective on life from a nursing home. Franklin’s titles are available at online retailers as e-books and in print. Her complete list of fifty, as well as dozens of collections to which she contributed, can be found at https://www.amazon.com/Darlene-Franklin/e/B001K8993A.

Victoria Burdine was not raised with her grandparents. They were deceased, she said, regarding her childhood in Louisiana. Burdine always was the family member who cleaned house and cared for elderly people in her neighborhood in a little town named Rayne.
“I enjoyed it,” said Burdine, LPN, ADON and wound care nurse at Tuscany Nursing Center in Oklahoma City.
Burdine has been a nurse since 2009 and has always served in long-term care. She was a proud CNA for 15 years. Becoming a CNA was a smooth adjustment for Burdine after cleaning neighbors’ homes and running errands at the store for them.
“That’s my passion. A grandmother I could talk to and a grandmother — I didn’t have that,” she said. “So I take these residents here as my grandparents.”
She began working at Tuscany Nursing Center on the day it opened. There was one resident and Burdine was working the night shift, she said. Burdine was the LPN on the floor, and four months later she was asked to become the wound nurse. In early July she added the credential of certified wound nurse to her resume. Certification required rigorous study and taking a test.
“I started at 7 p.m. Sunday night and finished at 3 a.m. in the morning,” Burdine said. “So I am a board certified wound nurse.”
There were a lot of things she was already doing as a wound nurse, but she also learned a lot, she said. The extra education was valuable for her and also added job security to her career, she said.
Burdine said she admires that the nursing staff works well together as a team. At 3 p.m. everyday a few of the residents join her in her office for coffee and cookies. She loves it and said there is something about them that reflects her passion for the elderly.
Residents are of all ages. Some of them are in their 30s and 40s and she loves them, too. Some have been in accidents.
“You never know. It’s sad. I have a few that’s younger than me,” she said. “It is true that back in the day our grandparents would be in a nursing home, but these days it’s really young people, too.”
Burdine said it’s important to let the residents have choices. If they don’t feel like taking a bath at a certain time they can choose a later time.
“If there are certain things they want to eat – let them do it,” she said. “Just give them that freedom of choice. That plays an important role.”
Every once in a while Burdine will work in the skilled nursing unit when needed. Skilled nurses need to pay attention to detail and understand their role as a nurse, she said.
“There’s some hard work back there,” she said.
For long-term care a nurse needs to be compassionate, Burdinecontinued. Nurses without compassion and a love for their job will burnout and not make it in the industry.
“I love my job and I’m very compassionate,” Burdine said. “There’s things I do for a couple of people out of my pocket. Ladies like wigs. They like makeup. Some of them do have family and their family does not come. So I take out of my money and I buy them what they want.”
“If you’re here for the money it’s the wrong place to be.”
One of the residents has a 90-year-old mom that called Burdine from Las Vegas. She wanted to say how appreciative she is of Burdine for taking the time for her daughter to pay attention to small things.
“That means a lot,” Burdine said. “In my mind, the one thing I keep saying is, ‘This may be me one day.’ You know I wish somebody would take the time out if that happens to be me.”
“I want that same person like I am today to be caring. Take a little minute and just listen.”
Burdine tells the CNAs that the residents could be their kids. Across the U.S. nurses and CNAs need to stop what they’re caught up in life and pay more attention to detail, she said.
“Just listen because really that’s all they want you to do,” Burdine said. “So I always say this could be me.”
Currently Burdine is also caring for her mother who came to Oklahoma from Louisiana. She visits Burdine in the summertime.
When returning to Tuscany Village her residents are glad to see her. One of the residents called her at home and Burdine was happy to bring her a hamburger.

Dawn Anita Plumlee Named 2017 Winner

story and photos by Traci Chapman

The Ms. Oklahoma Senior America Pageant isn’t just about beauty or talent, but a celebration of women who have lived a live full of love and meaning, who exemplify all that seniors can be and all they can offer – and the women who this year competed for the crown showed there are no limits for those who are willing to step beyond their daily confines.
“Life is a gift – open your heart and your mind to all life has to offer,” Dawn Anita Plumlee said.
Plumlee received another gift during the July 29 pageant, as the Velma, OK country singer and songwriter was named Ms. Oklahoma Senior America for 2017.
“I am so honored, I’m so happy and I look at my fellow contestants and that makes me feel even more special, because they are such wonderful women,” Plumlee said after the event. “They are all queens to me.”
Plumlee was one of nine contestants who competed this year for the honor, someone who is not new to the pageant – she was named first runner up in both 2012 and 2013. Flipping through the photos of past Oklahoma events, it was clear she was not alone.
“This event is something that brings out the best in everyone who takes part in it,” Plumlee said. “It’s an experience none of us ever forget and it really can be a life-changer, not only for the one who walks away with that crown – that’s the reason why so many of us stay active in the organization.”
The contestants
Ms. Oklahoma Senior America 2017 – Dawn Anita Plumlee
Dawn Anita Plumlee said she has “just always been a singer,” someone who not only draws on her country roots but also celebrates them. That was on show during Plumlee’s talent entry, her rendition of “Love Sick Blues.”
Plumlee life has always centered around music – after her family, she said. After turning down an RCA record contract when her children were small, she continued her work in the music industry on a smaller scale until they were grown; she has had three charted country records and has won several songwriting and performance awards, including Oklahoma Opry’s Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year. The new queen also wrote “Gift of Life,” a song aimed at promoting organ donation.
Another of Plumlee’s passions is horses, and she has won several shows, as well as embarking on a horseback journey from Oklahoma to Nashville with her husband of 59 years, Jerry.
First Runner-Up – Susannah “Sam” Koebrick
Susannah “Sam” Koebrick was the first female masonry instructor to work in the Oklahoma Career Tech System, instrumental in both designing and promoting the Oklahoma State & Education Employees’ Insurance Program.
A Bethany resident, Koebrick performs in Oklahoma Seniors’ Cabaret and El Reno Community Theater, as well as with her husband, Richard, in a variety of venues across the state.
“Keep an active mind, an active body, smile, have a sense of humor and treat everyone as you wish to be treated,” Koebrick said.
Second Runner-Up – Kathryn Gordon
Kathryn Gordon has had a varied career – as a typesetter, legal secretary, teacher, business owner and more. But, at age 62, Gordon decided to make a change, graduating from cosmetology school and now working as a hairstylist and nail technician.
Gordon, who graduated from University of Central Oklahoma and University of Oklahoma, was also a gymnast in the 1950s and 1960s as a member of the state’s only gymnastics team, Oklahoma Twisters. She won Junior Olympic Tumbling state and national honors, was a member of the 1966 Pan American Gymnastic Team and a 1968 Olympic gymnast. Gordon, who donates time helping children involved in gymnastics, showed her skills during her tap dancing talent entry, which included a cartwheel and handstand.
“Every day is an adventure,” Gordon said. “Every day I get up and put on my medals – humility, forgiveness, joy, faith and trust – and go out into the world, looking for the best in everyone I meet.”
Third Runner-Up – Carla Joy
Carla Joy is also an entertainer, something she started at age three when her parents put her onstage during a movie house intermission to sing. Performing this year at the Oklahoma Senior Follies, Joy also sings for fundraisers and at nursing homes and helped Las Vegas’ Harrah’s Casino begin a trio of karaoke shows.
Joy worked for 38 years in real estate, beauty and fashion and continues her interest in those endeavors, always trying to encourage others, she said.
“Get up, get dressed, show up and never give up,” Joy said.
Marilynn Blackmon
Marilynn Blackmom said that in a sense her life began at 60 – she went back to college, becoming certified in workforce training and development and working as an adjunct instructor at Eastfield College, located in Mesquite, Texas.
After battling low self-esteem for many years, Blackmon works to help others, teaching classes and obtaining her certification as a master coach in self-esteem elevation for adults and children. Her journey conquering self-esteem issues also led Blackmon to found her own business, “Fly Without Baggage.”
“Soaring, falling, daring to soar again anyway to soar and soar again,” she said.
Boonie Mason
Boonie Mason’s life changed in 1980 with a Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis – a situation she used to help others as she became peer counselor and Co-Chairman for an Oklahoma City MS support group. In 2004, Mason was awarded MS Society’s chapter President’s Award for Volunteer of the Year. She said those with MS and other similar diseases should never give up, showing her determination by performing a tap dancing routine during the pageant’s talent portion, despite walking with a cane.
Mason attended Oklahoma State University and worked as Yukon Chamber of Commerce manager, First National Bank public relations officer and an Oklahoma City doctor’s office manager.
“Remember how short life is – and for my MS friends, I want to let them know that life is not over,” Mason said.
Barbara McMullin
Barbara McMullin is the mother of five grown children, two of them deaf. That led McMullin to move her family to Oklahoma City so the two – Pam and Jeff – could attend OU Medical Center’s John Key Speech and Hearing Center.
McMullin worked and traveled overseas for many years and enjoys volunteer work and genealogy.
“I challenge myself today and tomorrow is my reward,” she said.
Sharon Moore
Born into a family of 11 children, Sharon Moore said faith and family have remained her focus throughout her life. At 69, she retired from a 31-year career at Legal Shield, and Moore said she decided to enter the pageant to find a new lease on life after the recent death of her husband.
Moore helped raise eight children, and now has 15 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She plays piano, sings and dances and enjoys writing poetry and journaling.
“Never stop learning – give your compassion and grace,” Moore said.
Gayle Orf
At 69, Gayle Orf took up the ukulele, a skill she exhibited during her talent performance of her own composition, “Lola La Spud.” That spirit of never slowing down helped land Orf a recent contract to do print modeling with a national agency; she teaches healthy living and entertains patients at a local cancer hospital and at senior venues.
Orf became the guardian and surrogate mother – at 60 – to a nine-year-old girl living in a children’s home after the death of her mother. Today, that daughter is a self-supporting college student.
“Life is to be enjoyed,” Orf said.
The Pageant
Ms. Senior America was founded in 1971 by Al Mott, who first started the contest in a New Jersey nursing home. At the time, a few contestants took part; the non-profit foundation now gathers hundreds of seniors annually to take part in pageants across the country, as well as the national pageant, held each October.
Before the day of the pageant, judges conduct interviews with each contestant. The event features talent and evening gown components, as well as the chance to share a 30-second “Philosophy of Life” with the audience.
“This is simply a celebration of beauty and accomplishment, as with any beauty pageant – but it’s a way to show that life is only beginning at 60,” Ms. Senior Oklahoma Foundation Administrator Ladell Maxwell said. “These ladies really do embody our philosophy of grace.”