Darby House 30th Anniversary News Insert

16/color

Darby House • Thursday, January 28, 2016 • 15

2 15

2 • Darby House • Thursday, January 28, 2016

A look back at Darby House over the years

Continuing a ‘family environment’Starting its fourth decade, Darby House continues to meet residents’ needs

SUBMITTED

Darby House was originally called Jeff erson Inn, built as a motel for the 1982 World’s Fair.

Darby House, Jefferson County’s first retirement center, was estab-lished in January of 1986.

The four story complex con-tains 38 suites, with each suite featuring a private living room, kitchenette, bedroom and bath-room with grab bars. Amenities included 24-hour security, weekly housekeeping, laundry service, an emergency call system in each suite, cable TV, telephone service, individual heating and air condi-tioning, all utilities, large closets, local transportation service, three daily meals and an extensive ac-tivity program.

Three local owners – J. Moser, Larry Musick, and Sam Thompson – had came up with the idea of a retirement center because Jeffer-son City was at a great advantage for senior adults. Darby House is located in the heart of Jeffer-son City, close to many shopping centers, restaurants, churches and Carson-Newman University.

Darby House was originally called Jefferson Inn, built as a motel for the 1982 World’s Fair. Major renovations were completed to convert the once-motel into the retirement complex. The biggest renovation included combining two motel rooms to make one suite at the facility.

A new wing, housing a kitchen and dining facility, as well as a residents’ lounge, was constructed on the west side of the building. New carpeting and wallpaper was installed to complement each 560 square-foot suite. Residents were invited to bring their own furniture, which provided a more

home-like atmosphere. Darby’s goals were to provide

security, independence, companion-ship, an active lifestyle, and privacy to their residents without having entrance fees or buy-in agreements – something unheard of at the time. When the doors opened, Darby had five employees and their CNA’s were contracted through local home health services.

Thirty years later, there have been

quite a few changes. There has been remodeling, new owners, and lots of changing faces. Among the 22 on staff are eight CNA’s to provide around-the-clock care, and with a full time LPN.

But the goal and personality of Darby House remains the same. Darby House residents still enjoy an active lifestyle with down-home cooking, an on-site beauty shop, and all housekeeping taken care of so

residents can enjoy life to its fullest without worrying about the small stuff.

Companionship is a key word at Darby House. Residents and staff become extended family. Residents have an opportunity to make new friendships and renew old ones. As their slogan say’s “Everyone Loves Darby House,” and after 30 years in Jefferson County apparently they are right!

Looking toward the future, Darby House hopes to continue serving the families of Jefferson and surround-ing counties.

“We understand that making the decision to leave your home can be a very difficult one and lots of times it’s left up to the adult children to make these decisions,” says Admin-istrator Kay Lawson. “We feel our job is to act as a resource during this time and do what we can to help your family to navigate through everything.”

“Lots of people don’t think about the part of their future where they may have to leave home. So when it happens, it’s overwhelming. And I feel that’s where we can come in and hopefully alleviate some of their stress.”

“Our residents get to maintain their independence,” says Market-ing Director Megan Polly. “It’s very important to people that they know they are free to come and go as they please. They are still in charge of their finances and medical care.

There are no buy-in agreements with us or leases. Independent living offers a lifestyle that is ideal for those who are still active and want to remain involved, but prefer to leave the worry and work of cooking, cleaning, and maintaining a resi-dence behind.”

Dietary staff prepares three deli-cious and healthy meals every day. Meals are designed to accommodate individual needs and preferences. Darby House also has an activities director who creates and plans

events daily so residents have a vari-ety of activates to choose from that they enjoy.

Residents can choose the level of socialization and/or privacy they en-joy, while having the added security of 24-hour staffing.

“Our staff is dedicated to creating an extended family environment. Darby is a special place that is near and dear to my heart, and I can’t wait to see what the next 30 years holds for Darby House!” says Law-son.

Born in Mapleton, Iowa, Mrs. Roberta Hargrave lived all over the United States before she and her husband Marshall decided to retire to Jefferson County.

“My parents worked in a poultry plant and when I was a junior in high school we were trans-ferred to Denison, Iowa. After graduation we moved to Clinton, Missouri,” she said. “I worked at the local dime store. Marshall’s parents lived in Clinton. This was during the Depression so he was working in a Civil Conservation Camp in Kansas. When he came home, I was the new girl in town and he was the new boy, and that’s all it took.”

Married October 11, 1941, Marshall was soon drafted into the Navy. Stationed in San Diego, they lived there for a year and a half. From there it was on to Wichita, Kansas. One day Marshall said he had decided he wanted to go to college. After talking it over and lots of prayers, they moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma for Marshall to attend Oklahoma Baptist University. Once grad-uating, they were on to New Orleans to pursue a Master’s Degree.

“By this point, we had two little girls. I remem-ber the littlest was in nursery school at the Sem-inole. We would put her in the back of our Model A Ford and she’d just ride all over New Orleans,” Roberta said.

Marshall graduated in 1952. “We were called to a church in Albemarle, North Carolina. We were there for six years before we were called to

another church in Greensboro. Then it was on to Boone, North Carolina where we stayed for 12 years.

It was 1972 when a friend of ours, Joe Gibson, recommended Marshall for the Minister of Edu-

cation position at First Baptist.” “I was a stay-at-home Mom and did volunteer

work at the churches we worked at until moving here, where I became the secretary for First Bap-tist and I did that for over 12 years,” she said.

She had left to retire when a friend called and said they needed help over at Tarr Chevrolet. So she was hired as a secretary at Tarr and worked in the service department for about eight years.

It was 2007 when the couple decided to move to Darby House and actually retire. After 10 overseas mission trips, Marshall wasn’t getting around as easily.

“We found a place more like home with some people we knew and other people who were in similar situations. But you were welcomed to do what you wanted to do,” she said. “(We) Loved participating in the activities. Activities so var-ied, even nights we went to the baseball stadi-um.”

Marshall passed away in 2009, after 69 years of marriage. Roberta kept herself busy with ‘church work’ and gardening. “Here I’m a resident that likes to help out as I can. For several years we had a garden out back that I raised beds. I grew tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce. Real pretty gar-dens.”

Mrs. Hargrave sums it all up by saying “Church work has been my life’s work. Whatever needed to be done besides the preaching. I’ll just say I’ve had a good life, with varied experiences. And Darby House is one of those great experiences.”

Congratulations on 30 years!

630 E. Broadway Blvd. • Jefferson City(865) 475-0730

RETAIL • GROCERY • BAKERY • PHARMACY TIRE & LUBE EXPRESS VISION CENTER • 1 HOUR PHOTO • CONNECTION CENTER

Hargraves found a home at Darby House

Roberta Hargrave


14 3


Congratulationson 30 years!

Blair E. Cohen, DDSSteven J. Monroe, DDS

156 West Broadway BoulevardJefferson City, TN 37760

(865) 475-7907cohenfamdentistry.com


��

Kay Lawson maintains a family atmosphere after 28 years at the retirement center

If you are at all familiar with Darby House Retirement Center, you certainly know a familiar face there.

Long time administrator Kay Lawson has had the privilege to care for every single resident there, except for the very first one. The first Darby House resident was Wil-liam Turnbull. His daughter, Billie Ledgerwood, still remains in con-tact and sends the facility a yearly Christmas card.

Darby House, Jefferson City’s first retirement facility, opened in Jan-uary of 1986. Kay began working there the following year in Decem-ber.

Kay was not initially hired as the administrator of Darby House. In the beginning, she worked switchboard operations and helped in the kitchen on the weekends while her husband kept their two small children. After only five months, she was called into the office by one of the owners. Kay can recall being nervous about that encounter because she was wonder-ing what she had done wrong. To her surprise, she was asked to consider taking the management position at Darby House. She had her doubts be-cause her previous work experience only included working at Magnavox and as a Jefferson County Schools substitute teacher. She knew that she did not have the experience for the position, but was honored that the opportunity was presented. Kay considered it a sink or swim oppor-

tunity, but decided to give it a try. With the help of company affiliate

Shirley Moore, she became increas-ingly comfortable with her new role in management. Shirley taught Kay a lot about bookkeeping and payroll, which was all done by hand back then. It truly was a learning experi-ence in overseeing the administra-tive duties at the facility, she said.

However, her experience in caring for people came naturally. If you know Kay, you know what a kind and compassionate person she truly is. When Kay started her career at Darby House, she said it felt like tak-ing care of her grandparents. Now, 28 years later, she said it feels more like taking care of her parents.

Kay is now seeing a second gen-eration of residents reside at Darby House. Gene Quarles, a current 90-year-old resident at the facility, is the son of Nancy Quarles who lived at Darby House when she was in her 90s. There have been several other second generation residents as well. Kay has met countless senior adults throughout the years and considers it a blessing to get to know each one of them as well as their family.

Without the support of her fam-ily, Kay said this journey would have been impossible. Her children were 9 and 4 years of age when she came to Darby House, and they are now 37 and 32. She has many fond memories of bringing her children, Shannon and Shane, to Darby House on different occasions. Both have grown up around elderly people, but her daughter, Shannon, showed a strong interest in helping them. Shannon would come to Darby House for visits while her mother worked, but eventually found herself working there at the age of 15.

Shannon helps Kay with many ad-ministrative duties such as comput-er work, since Kay is accustomed to doing everything by hand. Shannon also started the activity program at Darby House and has held the activi-ty director position for many years.

Kay’s husband of 48 years, Jack-ie, also plays a small role at Darby House. He entertains the residents with his storytelling, on occasion,

which they all enjoy. Jackie has even taken them for a ride in his 1931 A-Model antique car down highway 11-E. He has served as a private caregiver when needed, taking care of male residents in times of short-term health problems.

Jackie always plants a big garden on their family land every spring. When the corn and watermelons come in during the summer months, some of the residents travel on the Darby House bus, driven by her daughter, to Kay and Jackie’s home in New Market. The residents always enjoy the time spent at their coun-try home and have even watched an outdoor movie on Jackie’s home-made movie screen that he built on his barn. Kay will take them for a ride on her golf cart and down to their barn to gather eggs. Ice cream is also a favorite treat at Kay and Jackie’s. Some of the residents say that is their favorite activity because the view is beautiful and the south-ern hospitality can’t be beat.

Kay has always enjoyed yard sales, but her love for Second Source Thrift Store in Jefferson City has became her favorite hobby since it opened. When she sees something that she thinks one of the residents might like, she will buy it for them, which brightens their day. She enjoys the thrill of the hunt and loves a good bargain. Many of the residents now tell her to be on the lookout for something when she shops at Sec-


all of our housework.” – Carolyn Whillock

• “I can’t drive anymore, they get me where ever I need to go and I don’t have to worry about it.” – LM Whillock

• “Peace of Mind. I also appreciate them taking me to my doctor.” – Don Kimmons

• “The relief from everyday chores which had become burden-some for me. And getting to know ‘salt of the earth’ staff and other residents.” – Jean Muncy

• “Convenience. My family was here, I know so many people. I felt at home. There never was much question on where I was going when

it was time. And, there’s lots of space.” – Frieda Burts

• “Transportation availability. They have good coffee too, which goes a long ways!” – Mary Gosnell

• “I like a lot of things but best would be the housekeeping. It’s a big family and everyone gets along. I know everybody and I don’t have

to feel alone.” – Harold Myers• “ Everything! I love it! They keep

my apartment nice; I love the food, and just love the service. All the way around it’s a wonderful place to be.” – Fannie McKinney

• “Everyone treats you like a queen. They’re so nice and helpful, very attentive.” – Lyda Shockley

Family affairABOVE: Currently residing at the Darby House are two sisters and cousins. Pictured from left sitting are Imogene Whillock, Carolyn Whillock, and L.M. Whillock. Stand-ing are Edith Dean and Mary Ruth Collins. AT RIGHT: Married couples residing at the Darby House from left are L.M. and Carolyn Whillock, married 58 years; Gene and Carolyn Quarles, married 65 years; and Ben and Ruth Trent, married 66 years.

Kay LawsonKay Lawson


4 13


Myers still enjoys travel, exploration

Harold Myers

ond Source. On occasion, some of the residents even shop with her and they compare their bargains.

When Kay is not working or thrift shopping, she enjoys spending time with her five grand-children. She said her house seems like it has a revolving door because her grandchildren seem to be in and out all the time. With their family land situated in the Nances Grove Community in New Market, Kay is surrounded by family. Her son, Shane, is an electrician and lives across from her, and her daughter Shannon lives be-side her where Kay grew up.

Kay has two older brothers; Larry Trent who also lives across from her, and Jerry Trent who resides in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Kay and most of her family are members of Nances Grove Baptist Church where they attend regular-ly. Kay grew up in the Nances Grove community and still loves living there. She said the commu-nity is full of good neighbors and friends.

Through the years, Kay has seen many chang-es and upgrades at Darby House. The ownership and building may have changed, but Kay said the foundation remains the same. She main-tains a current staff of 21 employees, which she highly compliments and credits.

“My staff go above and beyond to help me see that each resident is well taken care of on a dai-ly basis,” she said.

Kay has always strived to create a family-like atmosphere at Darby House. She feels this is what sets them apart from other facilities.

“I have always treated the residents like family and a lot of residents and guests say that is what they love the most about Darby House – the homelike atmosphere.” When a senior adult decides to make Darby House their home, they can put their mind at ease when Kay and her staff are in charge of their care. Kay will see to it that they are happy and in the best care possi-ble during their retirement years.

When Kay was asked what her favorite thing is about Darby House, she said “seeing the residents open their Christmas present at our annual Christmas party. It is truly something to see, almost like watching a kid on Christmas morning. The joy our residents bring to the facility is such a blessing, she boasts.” “They all have a story to tell and are a great source of knowledge.

“Kay could write a book about what she has learned, the many stories told and the memories made at Darby House.

Starting each weekday at Darby House is what Kay looks forward to, but she stays on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. She is always ready to accomplish what is needed to make sure that each day runs smoothly at the retirement facility. That may be anything from plunging a toilet to looking for lost items and anything in between. Kay will get the job done and do so with an attitude of gratitude.

She truly does loves her job and is so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the Darby House family for the past 28, years and looks forward to what is to come.

As Kay is approaching retirement years her-self, she may very well find herself and Jackie living at the facility in the future. Since Jackie is a veteran, they will get to live there at a dis-counted price. She said she certainly would not mind, because she knows first-hand that they would be well taken care of at Darby House.

Born July 1930 in Maryville, Harold Myers says he’s always loved to travel and tried to pass that love along to his children. He met his beloved wife Anne while attending college at the Baptist Student Union and they married in 1954.

Harold was in the Navy and served in the Korean War. During his time in the service he lived all over the world – from Long Beach, California, to Washington, D.C., to even living in Japan and Greece for a while. In Greece he served as an intel-ligence offer for the tactical air command.

After the Navy, Harold and Anne moved to Missouri with their four children. With the mining company Harold worked for, he would travel to Europe, Peru, and South Africa and many more places looking for new mines.

Harold and Anne’s love of traveling only grew as the time passed, and that’s when they found the “Road Scholar” book trips. These are semi-educa-tional preplanned trips with a group of like-minded individ-uals that make it easy to travel the world. With these groups he’s been on 10 trips to places like New Zealand/Australia, Big Ben, Chaco Canyon, New Mexi-co, Panama Canal, and Laffette, Louisiana.

Since retiring to Darby House Harold has been on two such trips. The latest was a trip to Cahokia Mounds with his son in St. Clair County, Illinois.

o nto n Jefferson City(865) 475-2045


Cloud 9 Hair Salon748 East Main Street

Jefferson City, TN(865) 475-4200

Call for appointment


Veterans may qualify for ‘Aid & Attendance Benefit’

Congratulations on 30 years!EST. 1949

H

ARDWARE108 East Broadway

BoulevardJefferson City

865-475-3365

www.leeperhardware.com

The Cahokia Mounds are the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city. Cahokia was the largest and most influential urban settlement in Mississippi-an culture.

While there they were able to study the layout, visit arche-ological sites, and actually go

to a dig site. Myers says they were able to learn about how their society worked and lived, and they even tried making fires with sticks, like the Native Americans.

“I’ll just say it’s not easy!” Myers laughs.

With a number of Veterans residing at Darby House, managers work very closely with local Veterans Service Officers to make sure veterans receive the very best care in this stage of life.

The Veterans Administration has an “Aid & At-tendance Benefit” program that can help provide financial assistance to a veteran, or the surviving spouse of a veteran, for senior care as a part of the veteran’s pension.

The Aid & Attendance (A&A) increased month-ly pension amount may be added to a monthly pension amount if a resident meets one of the following conditions:

• They require the aid of another person in order to perform personal functions required in everyday living, such as bathing, feeding, dress-ing, attending to the wants of nature, adjusting prosthetic devices, or protecting themselves from the hazards of their daily environment

• They are bedridden, in that their disability or disabilities requires that they remain in bed apart from any prescribed course of convales-cence or treatment

• T ey are a patient in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity

• Their eyesight is limited to a corrected 5/200 visual acuity or less in both eyes; or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less

As of December 1, 2014, the maximum possible pension amounts are as follows:

• VETERANSAnnually Monthly

BASIC PENSIONSingle Veteran $12,868 $1,072

Veteran with one dependent $16,851 $1,404

HOUSEBOUNDSingle Veteran $15,725 $1,310Veteran with one dependent $19,710 $1,642

AID & ATTENDANCE Single Veteran $21,466 $1,788Veteran with one dependent $25,488 $2,124

• SURVIVORSAnnually Monthly

BASIC PENSIONSingle Survivor $8,630 $719Survivor with onedependent $11,296 $941

HOUSEBOUNDSingle Survivor $10,548 $879Survivor with onedependent $13,209 $1,100

AID & ATTENDANCESingle Survivor $13,794 $1,149Survivor with onedependent $16,456 $1,371

There is qualifying information such as being honorably discharged, serving at least 90 days of active service, and one day of military service during wartime period.

What’s your favorite thing about living at Darby House?

• “They take very good care of you!” – Lydia Rives

• “I love the meals! I don’t have to cook! I like bingo, and going on the trips, and I love my view!” – Mary Ruth Collins

• “All the games and visitors that entertain us are my favorite. All the people that work here are so nice and helpful” – Joe Brinkley

• “The ‘homey’ atmosphere and the aid given by the staff and always with a smile” – Gene Quarles

• “It’s the people that make it, they’re nice and friendly. That’s number one, they make it feel like home. They even do my laundry!” – Wanda Bullen

• “Everyone’s just so nice.” – Virginia Corum• “Everyone’s so courteous; they listen when

we have a need.” – Ben Trent• “Having someone here if we need them.” –

Ruth Trent• “The kindness of the people and how they’re

good to help however you need it. It’s the next best place to home.” – Imogene Whillock

• “Convenient, friendly, food is good, and it’s clean!” – Bonnie Collins

• “People have been really good to me. Conve-nient location to stores and banks. And I having a driver is nice when you’re in a pinch.” – Eula Hurd

• “I get to live the way I want to live. I can come and go as I please.” – Hope Caldwell

• “The privacy we have and they take care of

Congratulations to The Darby Housefor 30 years of serving the community. 167 West Broadway Boulevard

Jefferson City, TN865-475-6056

MEMBER FDIC. EQUAL HOUSING LENDER.

Darby House • Thursday, January 28, 2016 • 512 • Darby House • Thursday, January 28, 2016

12 5

Jefferson-Cocke County Gas Utility

243 E. Broadway Blvd.Jefferson City

(865) 475-7911

122 US Highway 25ENewport

(423) 623-3069


Clean, Dependable, Natural Gas

Childhood friends reunited at Darby House

KIMARY CLELLAND | THE STANDARD BANNER

Dorothy Seals (left) and Eula Hurd , childhood friends, are back togeth-er at Darby House after 60 years.

BY KIMARY CLELLANDREPORTER

Dorothy Seals and Eula Hurd were childhood friends and classmates over 60 years ago. They are “catch-ing up for lost time” now that they have been reunited at Darby House in Jefferson City.

Seals, a long-time resi-dent at Darby House, met Hurd – a new resident – when they started a con-ver-sation in the elevator.

“I did not recognize her since it has been so long ago,” said Seals. “She is us-ing her middle name, Eula, instead of her first name, Gertrude. But, we both went to a school that was a church in Haw-kins County. We both wore dresses made from feed sacks.”

Once it dawned on them that they were childhood friends, they have been together sharing memories whenever they can.

Their childhood commu-nity was isolated farmland. “We didn’t realize that we were poor. We just enjoyed our growing up,” says Hurd. Seals remembers that their

church school was “raised up” and that they played underneath on the banks of a creek. “We were good at pretending then. We made a play-house and found bits of colored glass to use as dishes.”

It wasn’t all playtime, though. Both children had to help with farm chores after school. They milked cows, carried wood, gath-ered eggs and picked fresh vegeta-bles to be canned.

Each child brought a can of vege-tables to school. There was a heat stove in the one-room schoolhouse (grades one to eight) and they remember the teach-er adding veg-etables to the pot to make a stew for their lunch.

The two friends lost touch when they both mar-ried and moved away.

“Jobs and money were hard to come by after World War II,” says Seals. “I took care of my kids and did farm chores during the day while my husband worked. When he got off work, he still had farm work to do. He wanted boys to help out, but I end-ed up having four

girls,” she laughs.Hurd also recalls finan-cial

struggles after World War II. She married and moved to Kingsport where she worked part-time to help support her family.

Both women commis-erate about losing their husbands, but agree that losing a child is even harder

to bear. Hurd lost two boy babies at birth due to a blood incompatibil-ity. Seals lost her oldest daugh-ter to cancer three years ago during the Christmas season.

But they both have great grand-children who live close enough that they can visit. Hurd showed pho-tos of her great grandson dressed up for kindergar-ten graduation.

As for old photos from school days, Hurd lost hers when she had a house fire. She encouraged Seals to ask her family members to search for some they may have stashed away. It seems like their shared memories are a good sub-stitute for old photos for now.

A local television station did a story on the women last week. “We took the Darby House bus to a thrift store and the employees recognized us from the television. We had to wait about 80 years, but I guess we are famous now,” laughs Seals.

They shared many good times during childhood and still have good times to look forward to. While their lives took separate paths for many years, they still remain friends today.

Darby House Nursing and CNA staffMembers of the Nursing and CNA staff include (front, from left) Irene Walker, Anna Halbert, Kathy Dampier, and Brandi Cain; (back, from left) Natosha Atkins, Debbie Rines (LPN), Donna Bunch, and Katy Strange.

Darby House Resident AssistantsResident Assistants pictured from left are Phyllis McCall, Donna Cochran, Faye Ayers (Administrative Assistant), Carolyn Kivett, and Brenda Biggs.

Darby House • Thursday, January 28, 2016 • 116 • Darby House • Thursday, January 28, 2016

6 11

Darby House Transportation Director Sharon Phillips

The Darby House Dietary Team pictured from left are Brenda Biggs, Patty Fannin (Di-rector of Dietary/Production Super-visor), Mike Harris, Martha Cox

The Darby House has a very dedicated staff . Pictured in the fi rst row from left are Megan Polly, Kay Lawson, and Shannon Cunningham. From left in the sec-ond row are Brenda Biggs, Anna Halbert, Irene Walker, and Martha Cox. Third row from left are Sharon Phillips, Patty Fannin, Kathy Dampier, Faye Ayers, and Phyllis McCall. In the fourth row from left are Katie Strange, Brandi Cain, Donna Bunch, Sue Burton, Donna Cochran, and Carolyn Kivett. From left in back are Debbie Rines, Donnie Collins, Mike Harris, and Natosha Adkins.

Ayers wears lots of hats as she cares for residentsLong time Darby House employee

Faye Ayers says “she’s seen lots of changes” over the years.

Starting in 1987, Faye was contracted to work through a home health agen-cy. “This was before Darby was even licensed. When I originally came there were only four residents.”

It was 1988 when Ayer’s was hired on directly. “We have had families here

that go back generations. I’ve taken care of mothers, daughters, sisters – the list goes on.”

Faye wears lots of hats at Darby House. Officially titled as part of Dar-by’s Life Enrichment Team, Ayers goes above and beyond her title. She says her favorite part is, “Seeing how well some of our residents do here. It’s a blessing every day.”

Ayers and her husband Oscar live in Hamblen County. After 49 years of marriage, they have two sons and three grandchildren.

Ayers laughs and says “I imagine one day Oscar and I will go ahead and move in at Darby too, and just contin-ue on the tradition.”

Faye Ayers


10 7



Mossy CreekMining, LLC

J. Moser

Darby House activities director finds rewarding career along the way

Darby House Activities Director Shannon Cunningham has practi-cally grown up at the facility. The retirement center has been like her second home since the young age of nine.

Her mother, Kay Lawson, began working there on the weekends in 1987 and became the administrator in 1988. Shannon and her younger brother would come and visit the residents often. She can remem-ber sharing her fireworks with the residents one 4th of July and trick or treating there in her younger days.

Being around senior adults has always been a big part of her life, as she grew up next door to her grand-mother and took care of an elderly neighbor as a young girl. She would check on the neighbor every day, helping him with eye drops, farming and whatever his needs were for the day.

At the age of 15, Shannon was put on the payroll at Darby House, help-ing in the kitchen and with switch-

board operations. There was not an activity program there at that time. She gradually began incorporating activities during her shift which gave the residents something to do. She did simple things with them in the beginning, such as playing Bingo and crafts. Shannon published her first newsletter during that time and distributed it to the residents. She still has a copy of that first one, which brings back many memories and laughs at the same time.

During Shannon’s senior year at Jefferson County High School, she took a health occupations class which prepared her to pass a test for a C.N.A. (certified nursing assistant) license. She filled that position as needed at the facility and keeps the license active to this day.

After completing high school in 1996, Shannon attended Wal-ters State Community College and graduated from Carson-Newman University in 1999 with a B.A. degree in applied psychology. She went on Activities Director Shannon Cunningham

Marketing Director Megan Polly is pictured with resident Mildred Lowery.

Housekeeping/Caretaker Team of Brandi Cain and Sue Burton.

Maintenance Director Donnie Collins


8 9


Campbell’s Exterminating Co.

Pest Control Service

Jefferson City, TN(865) 475-5212


Broadway ServiceCenter

351 E Broadway BoulevardJefferson City, TN(865) 475-3843

Congratulations on 30 years!Congratulationson 30 years!

1403 Russell AvenueJefferson City, TN 37760

Store HoursMonday – Friday • 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Saturday • 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Sunday • 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Prescription Department (865) 475-3836All Other Departments (865) 475-9411

Jefferson County’s Local Pharmacy For Over 40 Years

MURPHY’SSav-Mor Pharmacy

to complete 12 credit hours in the recreational therapy graduate program at the University of Tennessee.

She married her high school sweetheart, Brad Cunningham, in 1999. In 2002, they started a family with the birth of their first son, Noah. They had another son, Jonah, in 2005 and a daughter, Shanley, in 2008. All three of her children have grown up at Darby House as well, visiting the residents just like Shannon did in her younger days. Her children will help her with activities on occasion. Her daughter, Shanley, even gets disappointed if the residents have done something really fun while she is at school and she has missed it.

Shannon finds great joy in providing the res-idents with many exciting activities. The Darby House activity program that she has created and maintains is far from routine Bingo play-ing. While they do play the game on occasion, she always finds it interesting that the most sought-after Bingo prize that she gives away is toilet paper!

Shannon provides many opportunities for the residents to engage in social, physical and spiritual events. She encourages all the res-idents to participate in the ongoing activity program at the retirement center.

Shannon is also the bus driver for the facility and has taken the residents on many interest-ing outings during the past six years that the facility has owned a bus. Destinations have included the Smoky Mountains, music the-aters, restaurants, movies, Smokies ballgames, ice cream parlors, local parks for picnics and scenic drives. Some of her more memorable outings were taking the residents up in a hot air balloon, feeding goats on top of a roof, riding a roller coaster with one, and even zip lining over water with a spunky 88-year-old resident.

Shannon is in charge of scheduling all enter-tainment at the facility as well. She has a band scheduled to play once a month, providing res-idents the opportunity to dance and cut loose. There are many singers, church groups, school groups, college students, preschool groups, healthcare providers, nutrition experts and other entertainers that she also schedules

on a regular basis. She has even had an Elvis impersonator, a magician and live monkeys at the facility in the past.

Some of her favorite activities are those that are outside. She loves to see the residents getting out of the facility, just to get a change of scenery. Shannon has even taken them out to the lake on a pontoon boat. She may host a luncheon in the gardens in the back of the facility, a tailgate party in the front parking lot or an egg or scavenger hunt all around the facility.

She said one of her more daring activities is when she gets on top of the four story build-ing for their annual egg drop contest. She gives the residents a raw egg and tells them to package it any way they think the egg will remain safe when she drops it from the top of the building. This is always a fun activity that the residents enjoy.

Shannon loves providing entertainment for the residents and is always looking for new and creative ways to accomplish that. She encourages the residents to remain both physi-cally and mentally active. She teaches chair exercise classes and challenges the residents to keep moving.

Memory care opportunities are available at the facility as well, which Shannon leads to stimulate those residents with different phases of dementia. The residents that stay active at the facility really look forward to getting their monthly activity calendar to see what Shannon has planned for the month. There is a bulletin board located in the lobby of the facility that Shannon keeps updated and decorated for the residents to stay informed of all events at Darby House.

Getting to see the residents on a regular basis is like having many sets of grandparents because she develops a lasting relationship with each and every one. She has learned so much from the senior population throughout the years and truly enjoys the time that she spends with them.

In June of this year, Shannon will turn 38 and be employed at Darby House for 23 years. She can’t imagine any other career as fun and rewarding as working with the elderly.

Fannin prepares delicious meals

for residentsEarly riser Patty Fannin starts each weekday

in the Darby House kitchen at 4 a.m. Patty is an important asset to the Darby House team, as she

makes sure all residents are fed delicious and nu-tritious meals each day.

She has been cooking and serv-ing home cooked meals to the residents for over 10 years now. Before coming to Darby House, Patty served as the regional

manager for Haigney Services in Pigeon Forge. Patty was hired as a resident assistant at Darby House in 2005 and soon became a relief cook. She found her calling in the kitchen and now serves as the Dietary Director/Production Super-visor at Darby House.

Patty is not only responsible for cooking break-fast and lunch, but also meal planning and ordering all the food for the facility. When Darby House has special events such as holiday par-ties, garden luncheons, tailgate parties or even an Elvis birthday luncheon, Patty is the one that makes it all happen.

“I just love to see the smile on the their face when they walk in and we have prepared a huge spread,” Patty said. The residents will usually talk for days after a special event that involves some of Patty’s creations. She truly knows that the way to their heart is through food!

A Jefferson County native, Patty has been mar-ried to her husband, James, for over 22 years. They have five children and eight grandchildren – three of whom they care for, Austin (15), Savan-nah (14) and Ciera (10). When Patty is not working at Darby House, she enjoys shopping, cuddling with her husband and grandkids on the couch, and watching Netflix.

Quality of LifeIt’s at the heart of what we do.

Amedisys Home Health CareJefferson City, TN • www.amedisys.com

865.475.6400 • 866.864.1380

Amedisys Home Health Care offers patients the choices nec-

essary to maintain and even improve their quality of life — at home, where they feel most comfortable and recover more quickly. Our range of patient

services includes: Skilled and Psychiatric Nursing;

Home Health Aides; Medical Social Workers;

Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy; and Disease

Management Programs.


Patty FanninPatty Fannin

Documents

Darby House 30th Anniversary News Insert