April has been a month of highs and lows. We celebrated several birthdays and grieved two who passed. We also had many great visits and added a new resident to our number here at Pecan Grove.

Our dear resident, Ruth Henderson, passed away suddenly on the morning of April15th. We held a memorial service for her at PG on Sunday the 26th. Her great-nephew Talus Murphy and great-niece Brooke Henderson were here and had a part in the service. Her funeral service will be Sunday, May 3, in New Mexico with a burial in Minnesota May 30. These links provide the memorial service pamphlet and notes. Pamphlet Notes

Brooke stayed for a few days with her new co-worker, Jennifer Lester. They went through Ruth’s room and Brooke commented “I have more stuff in the back of the car than she had in this whole room!” Here are the sisters in front of the fire place.

Our dear brother, Gilbert Reese, also passed away suddenly and peacefully on April 25th in the Park Manor Nursing Home. When we went to visit the 5 Park Manor residents on Friday the 24th, he was fast asleep. His nurse informed us that he had been sick. Saturday he was put on hospice and passed mere hours after that. In the 8 years we were responsible for him, we never heard a complaint. Here are some pictures, first in January 2018 when he came to Pecan Grove. and then earlier this month with Rob Eberhart. Gilbert’s funeral will be in Marksville, Louisiana and burial after in Effie, Saturday, May 2nd. Here is a link to his obituary

We have a new resident! Louise Martin came to us from Louisiana. She knows Marie and Emma very well, and she is so outgoing that you would think she was your best friend just by talking to her. Emmy Nelson, Rob Eberhart and Joanna Bishop brought her. They ended up staying for a few days to help her get unpacked and her room ready. Here they are with her by the piano, and Louise at one of her first bible studies.

We had several big birthdays this month! Ken and Alice once again shared a birthday together. Here are the party goers celebrating them at Park Manor.

Kenny celebrated his 34th birthday this month. Here he is with Kathy having a laugh around his birthday pie.

We had an above average amount of visitors this month. Most came for the memorial service, but several came just for a meal or the night. Starting with Harold and Janalee Kracht coming to visit Doreen. Here they are in front of the piano and again outside the bunkhouse.

Elsie and Roberta had several visits from friends and family. Charles and Shirley Whalen came for a visit with Charles’ aunts (Elsie and Roberta).

Jack Nelson and his wife, Linda, came for a few days visit. They brought Joyce Major from Alaska. They know many of our residents well. Joyce decided to take a candid video at the lunch table. Here they are visiting the Park Manor five, with Irving in front of the piano, and the video Joyce took.

Roberta had some friends visit from Ohio, Frank and Elaine Kraft. They really enjoyed chatting with her, Roberta and Emma. Here they are in front of Naomi’s piano.

We’ve had a lot of staff changes recently. Here’s a picture of the current staff, 8 of whom work part-time (Kenny is missing).

Resident Journals

Louise Martin

Louise has made a great addition to our Pecan Grove family. She likes to joke and laugh, which livens up the place. Unfortunately she had a fall only a few days after arriving here. She pushed her button, but by the time someone responded she had already gotten herself up off the floor and was walking with her walker. She has a some substantial bruising around her right eye, but otherwise is unscathed. Here she is visiting with Kenny and Fern. And again with her black eye, we like to jokingly say “you should see the other guy”!

Roberta Stipp and Elsie Schroeder

Elsie really thrives with Roberta being here. Roberta takes great care of her sister. Here is Roberta with her visiting friends, Garrick Besterwitch and his wife, Elissa, and three kids Rowan, Reid and Adelyn, and again with Joanna Bishop near the entrance. Lastly, a picture of the two sisters getting acquainted with Louise.

Emma Perez

Emma is doing well, she still loves to make Jello “salad” whenever she can. She did not receive any personal visitors but was well known by many who stopped by. Here she is with Joanna Bishop and near the bunk house with Sue George.

Irving Ross

Irving is doing fantastic considering how far he had to come after his painful blood clots. He had physical therapy and was doing so well that they discharged him until further notice. He really enjoyed his visits with Rob Eberhart, Silas Gartin and Clarence Mounce. Here he is with the physical therapist, talking to Fern, and with Rob Eberhart.

Marie Mounce

Marie is slowing down but still does great. Her sister Verena McFadden passed away in Louisiana. Marie went to see her before she passed and stayed for the funeral. She loves too cook, especially seafood and Cajun food. Here she is enjoying a visit with Joyce Naber and Fern.

Doreen Beyer

Doreen does great, she is still as helpful as ever. She really enjoys visiting Park Manor and cheering up the residents there. Above she is talking with Fern.

Gwen Farmer

Gwen continues to do well, she enjoyed sitting at the table and listening to all of our visitors chatting. Here she is enthusiastically talking with Fern.

Naomi Watson

Naomi does great and always loves a good visit. Her son, Kevin, came to pick her up and take her back home to Missouri. She really enjoyed revisiting the school she taught at for so many years, and they surprised her by asking her to read a book to the class. Even though she enjoyed reminiscing and catching up she came back and told us “while being away I came to the conclusion that Pecan Grove is were I am meant to be. It is truly home for me now.” Here she is at the birthday party for Alice and Ken.

Esther Duncan

Esther does great, as is her usual. She still has daily correspondence with her many friends in Kentucky and Tennessee. She has been quite worried about the wild fires and tornadoes in Georgia and how they might affect the friends in Tennessee. She likes to give us daily updates on the changing situation. Here she is with her visitors today, Ron and Doris Taylor from KY.

Joyce Naber, Fern Duncan, Ronald Elliott, and Alice Oetken

Other than Gilbert passing away, the Park Manor 4 are still going strong. Three of them sit together everyday for their meals. Everyone enjoyed seeing them and bringing them good cheer. Here they are with visitors this month.

Thank you for your interest in us here!

Ken and Kenny

March is always a fun month full of birthdays! Doreen was our first birthday this month, she wanted it to be a simple affair. Here she is with her German chocolate cake and again with her bouquet posing with Don and Becky Schroeder.

Our next big birthday was for Esther (92). Here she is with Kathy and Ruth.

We have had several fast visitors this month, some only coming for a few hours. Tom and Rebecca Jones came from West Virginia to see Roberta and Irving. Rebecca professed in Roberta’s meetings many years ago, and really wanted to express her appreciation. Here they are in front of the piano.

Gwen had a wonderful surprise this month. She was visited by a family from South Korea that knew her well. She even spoke at the table for half an hour talking about how the work went into Korea and the different struggles they overcame. Here she is being greeted by her friends, speaking at the table, and again posing with the family.

Don and Becky came for a quick visit to see Elsie. She had been feeling under the weather so they thought a quick visit might help pick her up. They were right of course, she always loves seeing family!

Lounell offered to bring some of our residents over to see the Park Manor 5. The staff knows who we are and were ready to bring them all out the common area. Here are some of the pictures of the residents catching up with their old friends.

Naomi’s son, Kevin, came for a visit and decided to put his skills to use. He redid the garden and got it ready for the residents to care for. Here they are with their fresh garden.

Todd and Naleta Farnik visited from Colorado. They may come this way with their family for a few months.

Jeff, Tracy and Trevor Chenault came to help out on the pond cleanout project. We enjoyed their visit as much as their help!

Resident Journals

Doreen Beyer

Doreen is doing great, she still helps out in the kitchen. She has taken over the dishwashing operation. She helps out anywhere she can, with Irving and anyone else that needs help. She appears in several pictures in this post.

Esther Duncan

Esther continues to do well, she had a lot of correspondence this month because of her birthday. Here she is at Park Manor with Kathy and Ronald

Naomi Watson

Naomi does well, she really loves her piano! She likes to challenge herself to keep playing some of the more complicated tunes. Here she is playing the piano.

Irving Ross

Irving was able to return to us after his hospital visit. His legs are very sore because he has a massive blood clots. This makes him not want to stand up or transfer. We have him on 24 hour nursing care, someone is with him at all times. We have a hospital bed for him so he can sit up, and an over the bed tray for him to eat. Recently he has improved somewhat so that he is able to be at the table for meals and in some of the meetings. The blood clots seem to be dissipating slowly, allowing him to stand and even walk with a walker and an aid for a short distance.

Gwen Farmer

Gwen was so excited for her visitors that she wanted help to write their names in Korean. She had Kenny attempt to write in Korean, and was very particular as to how the names turned out. Here she is instructing Kenny on how to write, and the names on the table. This was a first for sure!

Emma Perez

Emma does well, and has been on a dessert making spree. She really likes to make Jello, but also does Tapioca and Rice pudding. She often wants to be a part of those who go to visit Park Manor. Here she is receiving some flowers with Elsie and Roberta, and again pulling her laundry with her new “invention”.

Roberta Stipp and Elsie Schroeder

Roberta and Elsie continue to do well. Roberta likes to read more than doing the puzzle so she sits with Elsie reading. Elsie was under the weather some this month, but the visit from Don and Becky cheered her right up. Here they are holding hands at the puzzle table, Roberta visiting with Joyce and helping Marie make apple pie.

Marie Mounce

Marie does well, even with some back and neck pain. She still loves to cook, and decided one day she was going to make omelets. The following week she made a savory souffle! Here she is toiling away in the kitchen.

Ruth Henderson

Ruth does well, she does not like to complain so we have to be sure to ask her how she is doing. She spends a lot of her time reading in her room. Here she is looking for her next interesting book.

Alice Oetken, Gilbert Reese, Ronald Elliott, Joyce Naber, Fern Duncan

The Park Manor 5 are doing great! When our residents went for a visit they were so pleased to have some fellowship. Ronald always carries his bible with him, and has been more talkative of late. Doreen had a nice conversation with Gilbert, she said he was answering her questions and was very clear. Alice loves to talk, and Fern has also been talkative. They all light up when our residents come to see them, it is sweet to see that they may not know your name but they know the spirit.

More recently Ken and Kathy visited them. Fern was more “with it” than we had seen her for a while. She spent some time on the phone with Sherdinia.

Farm

The pond cleanout project has been the major effort this month. Thanks to the Chenaults, we had some competent equipment operators.

Thank you all for your continued interest in the residents here and at Park Manor.

Kenny & Ken

The second month has come and gone, with many privileges and visitors. February was our special meeting month, which means we had a few days of visits from our staff and the visiting workers. The workers convene here at PG for a workers meeting, to enable our worker residents to be included. We invite the friends to come attend a luncheon after. Here are a few pictures of the festivities and the workers picture.

We had so many workers visiting and several wanted to visit our Park Manor residents as well. Stacey Seidlitz went for a lovely visit with everyone there. Here they are enjoying their old friends.

Resident Journals

Ruth Henderson

Ruth does very well. All the walking continues to pay off. She hasn’t tried her usual walk of going to the gate and back, but does make her way to the mailbox and down to the pond at least once a day. Owen and Susan Henderson are visiting her today, they know Irving well and he enjoyed visiting with them also. Here they are on the porch and again playing Ruth a little tune.

Irving Ross

Irving spent a week in the hospital, then a week at Park Manor nursing home for PT and OT. He has been back here at PG for 2 weeks. He was very motivated to excel at his physical therapy because he wanted to return to us. He was walking so fast the nurses had to ask him to slow down so they could evaluate him! Here he is with Susan Henderson, Ronald and Alice.

Naomi Watson

Naomi had quite a few visitors this month. Her niece, Nita Stutson, came with her son, Scott, and his wife, Kelli, from Florida. They were happy to lend a hand and even decorated for Valentines Day. Naomi’s son, Kevin, and his wife, Kathy, came to visit at the same time. Here the Stutsons are with Naomi at the cabin, and all of them together on the patio.

Gwen Farmer

Gwen really enjoyed a personal visit from Lotty Hapner this month. She came on her own for a long one on one visit with Gwen about their time together in South Korea in 1986. She was in a few of her gospel meetings and went to a few of the friends homes for visits. Gwen decided to make some Korean medicine for us, since there has been a bug going around. Here she is in the kitchen making her special dish, and again as a staple part of the “puzzle crew”.

Esther Duncan

Esther continues to do well, walking everyday and sending her letters. She is one of the few that insists on walking all the way to the gate. Good for her!

Doreen Beyer

Doreen stays the same, helping in the kitchen as much as she can and watching out for the others. She has taken to sitting by Irving during meals, ready to lend a hand if needed. Here she is visiting Irving at Park Manor and again with some visitors, Mike and Faith Braaksma, Jane Jacobson, Roger Birkhofer and Don Schroeder.

Emma Perez

Emma does great, she continues her calls and correspondence with many South Houston friends. Some friends sent her some red and green mole for us to try, and she made it up with chicken, rice and tortillas. Wonderful!

Marie Mounce

Marie has slowed a little, mostly tired and sleeping more. She has some hearing trouble, but can comprehend and carry on a conversation as long as you have her attention. She still gets excited to cook or bake, and made some wonderful banana muffins this month.

Roberta Stipp and Elsie Schroeder

Elsie and Roberta continue to keep at those puzzles. Life long friend and someone who considers herself Elsie’s daughter, Eileen Weiss, was here. She stayed for a week and paid close attention to Roberta and Elsie. Elsie responds great to personal attention, conversation, reminiscing and story telling. Also, her daughter, Carol Aarestad, and grand daughter, Amelia, came at the same time. They too enjoyed paying special attention to Elise and Roberta. Here they are at various points around PG.

Alice Oetken, Ronald Elliott, Gilbert Reese, Fern Duncan, Joyce Naber

All of the Park Manor 5 continue to do well, by their standards. Gilbert, Ronald, Alice and Joyce usually enjoy most of their meals together, even though there may not be much conversation, they still know they would rather be with each other. Fern had a spell and a few days in the hospital. Since then she has been much less able to communicate.

Farm

February started out cold after the January freeze, but that changed to warm for most of the month. We’re mowing grass, trees are budding, kids are swimming. It’s beautiful but scary… if this if February, what will August be like!

Our wildlife still has plenty to eat and we often catch the deer happily grazing along the wood line.

We’ve started a big project to clean out the pond beside the log cabin where Ken and Kathy live. We’ve managed to empty it, and hope to dig out the muck in March. What a muddy mess!

Thanks for your interest and care for all of us here.

Ken and Kenny

Happy New Year everyone! We started our New Year off with a bang, because we did our fireworks on New Years evening. Here are a few shots of the residents enjoying the evening and the fireworks themselves.

The biggest event this month was the birthday party for Gilbert Reese (102) and Ronald Elliott (98) at the Park Manor nursing home. About 23 of us were there including the (then) 5 Park Manor residents and 9 PG residents. We don’t know the lady in the front in a wheelchair, but she enjoyed joining us! It is a nursing home.

Elsie enjoyed a visit from her New Braunfels neighbors Franz and Sally Holzmann. Here they are joining her at the puzzle table.

Jeff and Monica Hertz came from Nebraska to see several. They knew Roberta, Elsie, Gwen and Doreen. Here they are at the puzzle table.

Irving has had several visitors, two of which were his nieces and one of their husbands. Dan and Bev Oakes and Cheryl Hollifield.

Long time friends of Pecan Grove, Ray and Myra Klepzig came for a visit and Kent and Linda Opel were here too.

Roger and Renee Neumiller came for a visit from ND. Here they are with Wayne and Dawn Overby (originally from ND) and Roberta

More folks from ND, Mark and Donna Richtsmeier of the Hunter convention grounds came to visit. They were in a rush to carry on so could not stay for lunch, but had a lot of warm visits in a short span of time. Mark and Becky are cousins, so she was happy to see him even for a brief visit.

Chuy and Juanita Ibarra visited from Pearland. Here they are with Esther.

Yvonne Wilson came to visit her son Wendall, and of course everyone here. Wendall is a good friend of Ronald’s and has been here multiple times. His mother from Trinidad came to enjoy a visit with Marie and the others. Here she is with Kent and Linda, Gwen and Ruth.

Carla Crawmer Spilman came from California to see Irving. She knows Lorianne Lerwick well, so Lorianne came to be with her.

Bobby and Kathryn Smith brought Lorraine, and Jill Rich came to take her back to College Station.

Terry and Linda Boelter visited Naomi. Here they are with Roberta and Naomi.

Charles and Dorie Sterling are here now. They came to see Irving and plan to be in the union meeting here in the morning.

Resident Journals

Gwen Farmer

Gwen does well, she likes to interact with the company she recognizes. She is still a staple part of the puzzle crew and spends a lot of her time trying to finish them. Here she is with Ray and Myra.

Irving Ross

Irving has had a difficult month with 2 hospital stays, and now he’s in skilled nursing at Park Manor to try and get his strength back to return to Pecan Grove. He doesn’t complain and is trying to do the best he can by himself. There have been several pictures of him above when he was able to enjoy visits here. Hopefully he’ll improve and return here in February.

Emma Perez

Emma is still doing great. She took a trip to the valley for a funeral. She likes to go out for Sunday’s at the Opel’s because afterward they get to eat out! Here she is with Yvonne Wilson.

Ruth Henderson

Ruth walks down to the pond or up to the mailbox everyday regardless of how cold it gets. She has a keen mind, remembering all the little details that we as staff sometime miss.

Elsie Schroeder

Elsie is especially happy with her sister to keep her company. Other than her hearing she is sharp as a tack. It must be all the puzzle work she does!

Roberta Stipp

Roberta enjoys spending time with her sister. She tries the puzzles but is more interested in reading. She likes to pick through our bookcase and see what interests her. She recently had some dental work done that was painful for a while, but she didn’t complain.

Naomi Watson

Naomi does well, except when she is eating. Sometimes she has problems swallowing. The speech therapist recommended a set of guidelines for the staff to follow when cooking and exercises for Naomi, which have helped. Hopefully these steps will help her continue to eat what everyone else is eating.

Doreen Beyer

Doreen does good except the cold days seem to mess with her. She seems to get tired very easily, but when she has energy she still wants to help out as much as she can.

Esther Duncan

Esther continues to do well and have regular correspondence. She likes to make marmalade and send jars out to a few of her friends. She takes long walks every day the weather permits.

Marie Mounce

Marie is doing good. Sometimes she is short of breath. The doctor told her she’s getting old! She still loves to cook and bake.

Park Manor Nursing Home

Ronald Elliott, Gilbert Reese, Fern Duncan, Alice Oetken, Joyce Naber (and for now Irving Ross)

All of our Park Manor five full time residents continue to do well. They’ve had many visits this month.

Pecan Grove

We had a surprise bounty this month! We have been having trouble with wild hogs rutting in the back pastures and pecan orchard. Jerry asked a local man for some help trapping them, and we got one! We decided to smoke it and it was delicious, and plentiful. Here are before and after pictures. Just as this blog post was being finalized we saw a bunch of hogs in the pecan orchard. This picture only shows a few of them. By the time we got a rifle they were gone.

We had temperatures as low as 18 at night this week, but not much precipitation or wind, so not bad. The ice on the grass and trees was beautiful.

Thanks for your interest and care for us here!

Ken and Kenny

We had only one birthday this month but it was a big one. Ronald turned 98! We were unable to take all of the residents to celebrate, like we usually do, because he had tested positive for covid. He has been released from quarantine and is doing just fine! We plan to have a birthday celebration early in January with both Ronald and Gilbert who will be 102! Here Ronald is with Kathy and Joyce.

Betty Goss and Lounell Claybourn went for a visit of our residents at Park Manor. They had just been showered and their hair was not done, so the ladies had a salon day. Here is Alice after getting her hair done and Fern visiting.

Emma had several visitors. Their names were Balta and Salva Zazafies and Jorge. They also came to see Ronald and Alice, so they stayed for lunch and then took Emma to see everyone at Park Manor. Here they are at Park Manor with Ronald, Alice and Joyce.

Fred Adadjo came for a few days, trying to escape the New York cold snap. Of course, he was coming to visit everyone, including the Park Manor residents. He took Esther, Doreen and Roberta for a visit to Park Manor. Here they all are in the living room at Park Manor with all 5 PM residents. Then Fred with Irving and lastly all 10 or our residents with both sets of visitors.

The Pecan Grove staff had a holiday dinner together and a picture taken.

We had a whirlwind of visitors these last few weeks. We had several visitors come just for Christmas. Here we all are at the Christmas dinner table enjoying Esther’s lamb, and a shot of all of our residents and most of the visitors after Christmas dinner. Our visitors here were Mona Reese, Steve Peirson, Lorraine Lerwick, Brook Henderson, Sandra Boettcher and her co-worker (Kathy’s sister) Pat Johnson.

Silas Gartin brought his brother Skylar for the first time. Here they are with Pat and Sandra.

Jennifer Uzzell brought her grandmother and 5 of her children out to visit. Here they are in front of the piano.

Joyce’s brother Wayne Naber came, and brought his two sons Dwayne and Devin. They went to Park Manor to pick up Joyce for a visit here.

Another time Pat and Sandra visited Park Manor with Ken and Kathy. Here they are with all 5 and again with Joyce.

Gregg and LaNell Willert were here for a visit from Missouri.

Jerry’s mother, Judy, came for a visit and to see how they were doing. They invited several from the farm and Fred for a visit. Also, Becky’s daughter Izzy is here for a visit from Minnesota.

This evening (New Years eve) Don and Becky Schroeder came. Here they are with Joyce Lawrence and Sandra Boettcher.

Resident Journals

Irving Ross

Irving has been doing well since his return from the hospital. He has a good memory and keen mind, we really appreciate his part in the studies. He is giving Emma a run for her money when it comes to visitors per month! He went out for an appointment and later visited Park Manor. Here he is visiting at Park Manor, with Steve Peirson who professed in his meetings in NYC in 1968, with his nephew and his wife, Don and Carol Ross, lastly with Linda Berry.

Naomi Watson

Naomi enjoyed a week with her son for the holidays. She decided she needed a new bed, and has been extoling its comfort ever sense. Here she is playing her beloved piano, bringing lots of joy and cheer!

Gwen Farmer

Gwen stays the same, doing well and doing puzzles. She enjoyed the company, especially her visit with Steve Peirson. Here she is enjoying one of several holiday feasts with visitors.

Marie Mounce

Marie had a fall this month, and seemed to have blacked out. There was not really anything we could find as the cause. She was ok, no pain from the fall. She continues to work in the kitchen, making interesting recipes that catch her fancy. Here she is making shrimp scampi.

Elsie Schroeder and Roberta Stipp

Roberta has decided she would like to stay as a resident! We think her spending every day with her sister has brought both of them a lot of comfort and joy. They can often be found at the puzzle table, or taking walks together. Here they are working on a puzzle, and Roberta visiting Ronald at Park Manor.

Emma Perez

Many people come to visit Emma, and our other Spanish speaking residents at Park Manor. She does well, taking them for walks, giving them tours and of course showing them her room. Here she is with Joyce on her visit.

Doreen Beyer

Doreen is doing great, she helps in the kitchen as much as she can. She knows the routine well, and comes out beforehand to get things on the table and after helps with dishes. Here she is visiting with LaNell and some of the ladies in her room, and again with Carl and Gloria Reiff.

Esther Duncan

Esther is still doing great. She had a heart scare this month, but thankfully she was sitting down when the episode happened. The doctors could not find anything irregular about her heart, but it had been fluttering and making her dizzy. She still walks up to the gate every day, regardless of the weather. Here she is visiting Park Manor with Fred Adadjo, Roberta and Doreen, and again with Kristy Garrett and her mother Linda Berry.

Ruth Henderson

Ruth does well considering her recovery from her fall. She has had some days of dizziness and tiredness, but generally does not let those things impede her daily routine. She has a great appetite for soup and really enjoys when the staff makes her some. She enjoyed a Christmas visit from her great niece Brooke. Here she is with some visitors, Ron and Bette Lu Lerwick.

Alice Oetken, Gilbert Reese, Ronald Elliott, Fern Duncan, Joyce Naber

Our Park Manor residents are faring well. Ronald had a fall, which caused the staff to take him to the ER where he tested positive for covid. He never had covid symptoms but had to endure some isolation back at Park Manor. Alice also had a sort of fall, she slid off her bed. She was fine also. Fern has been doing better. When visitors come she is actually conversing and recognizing them. We think maybe a change to her medications has caused this revival. Gilbert has grown more quiet. He rarely says anything and sleeps a lot, but seems content. Joyce is so happy to be at Park Manor with ones she recognizes, and to have fellowship again. Here they are, Irving with Fern, Kathy with Gilbert and a group around Fern.

It was 80 degrees on Christmas! Our wild life has been loving the mild weather. Here are some neighbors we saw recently.

Happy New Year! From all of us here at Pecan Grove! Thank you for all of your support and love throughout 2025. We hope you all have an amazing 2026!

Kenny and Ken