For 60 years Oklahoma Methodist Manor has been a leader in

serving elders “in the spirit of Christ.” As we look toward the future OMM recognizes the significant need to expand and improve the services we offer to people living with dementia and their caregivers. You are invited to two special events that will focus our attention on these issues:

“Changing the Status Quo for People Living with Dementia” will be held Monday, October 3rd at 4:00 p.m. in the Fleming Center. Our guest speaker will be Karen Love, co-founder of the Dementia Action Alliance. DAA is a national collaborative coalition dedicated

to helping people live fully with dementia, supporting those who care about them, and addressing stigmatizing practices that erode well-being.

Karen is a gerontologist and a nationally known expert in aging supports and services with a specialty in dementia care. For the past 16 years, Ms. Love has worked at the intersection of research, policy and practices for culture change in long-term care settings as well as practices that enhance the well-being of individuals living with dementia and for those who care about and for them.

Then on Tuesday, October 4th at 2:00 p.m. OMM will be hosting: “The Eden Alternative- What It Is and Why It Is Important to You” presented by Chris Perna, President of the Eden Alternative. Since OMM has fully embraced the principles of the Eden Alternative, Chris has graciously agreed to speak to the members of the OMM community.

Chris Perna joined The Eden Alternative after spending 25 years in

the insurance industry. Chris has also distinguished himself through his service to elders in the community of Rochester, New York as a multi-year board member for Lifespan and Family Service of Rochester, two organizations committed to serving the needs of elders.

Karen and Chris will be in Tulsa in conjunction with “A Caring Conversation,” an invitation only conversation among 30 individuals: persons living with dementia, family members and other care partners, community leaders, long-term service and support providers and healthcare practitioners. The purpose of the event is to shift discussion about dementia from a focus on loss and impairments to discussion about LIVING fully with this long-term condition.

Please join us for “Changing the Status Quo” and “The Eden Alter-native” presentations. By all means -invite your friends to come along!

RENEWING OMM’S COMMITMENT TO LEADERSHIP IN TULSA

BY STEVE DICKIE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

MM

Pictured Above: Karen Love and Chris Perna

October 2016 . Focus on Intellectual Wellness

Reflecting Manor Life

Manor Mirror

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

CHAPLAIN 2DAA 2WELLNESS 3GOOD READS 3GRANDPA JOHN 4THREE WAYS TO GIVE 5 OMM NEIGHBORS 6BIRTHDAYS 6TRANSITIONS 6FEATURED EVENTS 7

PAGE 2 . MANOR MIRROR . OCTOBER 2016

Bev Doolittle is “The Visual Storyteller.” She does remarkable

paintings in a unique style some call “camouflage art.” When you first look at Bev’s paintings, you see a beautiful landscape with trees,

a mountainside, and often beautiful water elements. It’s captivating in and of itself. But, if you look longer at her paintings you will begin to discover other features and elements that were hidden before but that seem to come alive and present themselves. Then the composition takes on a depth you hadn’t noticed before.

Have you seen God today? Did you know you can see

Him? The Scriptures tell us He is evident in all of His creation and the beauty points back to the Master Artist.

In the account of the Israelites journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, there is a beautiful moment captured in one verse where God was revealing His presence. Exodus 16:10 reads, “Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory

of the LORD appeared in the cloud.” God’s people were standing on the threshold of a vast wilderness, and as they looked out over it, they didn’t just see the bleakness, the dryness, the lifelessness. No, they saw the glory of the Lord.

Perhaps you are on the threshold of a wilderness. Perhaps you are already in the very midst of a wilderness and find yourself surrounded with, well, nothing on all sides. I want to remind you to first remember that Christ has promised He will never leave you nor forsake you. Secondly, I want to encourage you to pray that the Lord would open the eyes of your faith that though nothing appears to others, you see your Loving, Faithful Protector and Savior in front of you, inviting you to come to Him.

Lord, we pray along with that great hymn, “Open my eyes, illumine me. Spirit divine!”

SEEING GOD!BY DUB AMBROSE, CHAPLAIN

People living with dementia face many challenges in daily life. Confronting societal misperceptions

and stigma about dementia should not be among them. Learning about dementia and spreading kindness are antidotes to stigma.

The vision of the Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) is a country where people with dementia can live fully without stigma and misperceptions, and where care partners are fully supported. 

DAA is a volunteer coalition engaged in changing our nation’s understanding of and attitudes about dementia through serving as a trusted source for conversations, education and advocacy. 

DAA has five goals:CONNECT the network of people living with dementia

and their advocates across the country to amplify their voices to better inform and shape policies, practices and research that impacts them.

EDUCATE the public about living fully with dementia and foster understanding about the diminishing and discriminatory effects of stigmatizing attitudes, behaviors and practices.

ADVOCATE for policies, practices and research that optimizes the well-being of people living with dementia (DAA’s Person-Centered Dementia Values & Principles).

PROVIDE ready access to curated resource materials about living fully with dementia.

SUSTAIN the operation of the Dementia Action Alliance.

DEMENTIA ACTION ALLIANCE

PAGE 3 . MANOR MIRROR . FOCUS ON INTELLECTAL WELLNESS

It has been said that the brain is like muscle. It goes without

saying that the physical makeup of the brain and muscle is completely different. However both the brain and our muscle stay healthier and

have more vitality when we use them. Muscle mass may not get noticeably bigger when we are older and work out but strength changes can be noted. The actual mass of the brain doesn’t grow when we use it. The neuroplasticity does improve and that is what helps us keep our mind young and sharp. In both cases if you don’t use it you lose it. As we age there is a natural decline in muscle mass and strength and the brain does shrink. The research has shown that the more we use our brain the less likely we are to experience mental decline. With healthy habits we can push memory loss and dementia off until very late into life, but that isn’t to say we will experience either one of those. This is great news for everyone. The more we choose to do now the more impact we can have on our intellectual wellness as we age.

Intellectual wellness is the dimension of wellness that can help keep our brains healthy but it is more than that.

Intellectual wellness isn’t just about the brain it is about the mind.

We can achieve brain health and intellectual wellness by valuing critical thinking and using that ability to discover our own answers to life’s questions. Being a deep thinker is actually good for the brain. Being creative and involving ourselves in stimulating mental activities also helps strengthen our mental abilities. Intellectual wellness involves utilizing learning resources to expand knowledge and experience life more fully. It refers to active participation in scholastic, cultural, and community activities. Intellectual Wellness values and nurtures creativity, curiosity and lifelong learning. It means keeping an active mind through mental stimulation in the form of formal and informal study.

Embracing intellectual wellness gives more depth and meaning to our lives and enables us to maintain good cognitive function as we age. Intellectual wellness keeps us involved with life and if we add exercise to the mix our brains will thank us.

INTELLECTUAL WELLNESSBY KATIE COX, WELLNESS DIRECTOR

Editor’s note: This month launches a new column for the Manor Mirror. Good Reads shares book reviews by people who live and work on the OMM campus. The featured book can be borrowed from one of the three libraries on campus: Crestwood Library, Book Nook (in Felt House), and the Holliman Library. You are invited to write a review for the Manor Mirror. For more information or to submit a review: cfabian@ommtulsa.org

The Barbary Pirates by William Dietrich can be borrowed from the Crestwood Library.

This story takes place in the early 1800’s, an era of wooden war ships, in the North Africa area of the Mediterranean. Napoleon has sent a swashbuckling American explorer, Ethan Gage, to search for a “Mirror

of Archimedes” that from legend can focus the sun’s rays so intensely on wooden warships that it sets them on fire; once, according to legend, it burned an entire Roman fleet with its power.

Barbary pirates are also looking for the mirror, feeling that with its power, they can rule the world. They know that Ethan’s research has shown the areas where the mirror was most likely hidden centuries ago, and plan to capture him and have him to lead them to these areas. They do capture him and three scientist companions who are working with him. There are harrowing escapes from dungeons. His long lost love Astiza, and the two year old son that he didn’t know he had are also enslaved and he tries to rescue them. There are so many intense situations that it is riveting to the end.

BY AL BROWNLEE

GOOD READS

PAGE 4 . MANOR MIRROR . OCTOBER 2016

Grandpa JohnREMEMBERS

GOING BACK TO GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE (1999)BY JOHN C. WESTERVELT

When my sister Harriette read the Grandpa John story about summers at grandmother’s in Hugo, Oklahoma, she said we should go back. As for me, I wasn’t sure it was possible to go back.

Each summer from about age seven to age thirteen, Mother, Wallace, Harriette, and I would spend a month in Hugo at Mema’s house. Two days before my fourteenth birthday, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Gasoline rationing ended our Hugo visits.

In the spring of 1948, Wallace and Lloyd Boatright (Harriette’s husband) went to Hugo to move Mema to Mother’s home in Oklahoma City. Mema had sold her house and most of the furnishings as she prepared to live out the rest of her days with my mother. This sounds hard for both women, but not if you understood my mother’s love and the strong faith of the two of them. That was the last time Mema was to see her house.

On the final day of October 1998, Wallace, Barbara, Harriette and I headed back to Grandmother’s house. The clouds thinned and the red sumac brightened under a peeking sun as we moved towards the southeast corner of Oklahoma. In Hugo we drove the path I had walked a hundred times, north off Jackson on Second street for six blocks.

At 611 North Second, Mema’s house stood as stately as I remembered from the 1930s. The large elm tree, that had provided shade for play, was gone. The lady living next door came out to ask about our taking pictures. She offered to ask the current resident of Mema’s house to show us around.

Inside, the house looked the same as when I was a boy except it had “shrunk.” The front door, at the extreme right side, opened into a hall. On our left was a wide, sliding, pocket door to the living room. Straight ahead was a staircase to the second floor.

As Jackson divides the town of six thousand into north and south, Broadway separates the east from the west. A block west of Broadway, just off Jackson, still stands a two story, red brick, train station. Next to the waiting room was the Harvey House restaurant. Upstairs we could see rooms outfitted as in the days when Harvey girls roomed there.

Eight blocks east of town and several blocks south was a circus cemetery. The entry road had the same stone curbs that are in front of Mema’s house. These were placed there by the WPA (Works Progress Administration). Those were times when the welfare patrons had dignity as they left behind a useful legacy.

Life’s lessons learned with family in Mema’s house and neighborhood are as real today as when they were formulated sixty years ago. Seeing Hugo again brought many of them to the forefront of my mind. I celebrated my grandmother and her life once more, then left Hugo for what would be the last time.

PAGE 5 . MANOR MIRROR . FOCUS ON INTELLECTAL WELLNESS

Recently I had a conversation with an individual who wanted

to leave a legacy gift to Methodist Manor; however, he had recently completed his trust and did not want to make any changes to it. He asked

me if there was an alternative way to accomplish his goals without changing his trust.

There are three very simple ways to make a charitable gift outside of your will or trust.

Retirement Plan Assets. If you plan to leave some of your estate to charity, consider designating retirement plan assets for this purpose. These assets may escape both estate and income tax when given to a charity. Making OMM a beneficiary of your retirement plan assets is a very easy way to make a legacy gift. There are various ways that you can make the designation. You might set up a separate IRA; designate a percentage of your IRA or a contingent beneficiary of your IRA. Your plan administrator can assist you.

Life Insurance. Do you have an “old” life insurance policy? This would be a policy that you obtained years ago to provide for your minor children who are now in their 40s or 50s. If the policy is paid-up, you can designate OMM the owner and beneficiary. This will provide some current income tax benefit. You can also designate OMM the beneficiary of a current life insurance policy along with your spouse and/or children. Many have set up life insurance policies that benefit a charity and are currently paying the policy premium. By making the charity owner and beneficiary premium payments will be considered a charitable contribution. Contact your life insurance agent for assistance.

Payable-on-Death Accounts. Payable-on-death accounts offer an easy way to make a legacy gift. They are easy to create. There is no limit on how much you can leave this way. Designating OMM beneficiary costs nothing and it is easy for the OMM to receive the gift after the account holder dies. And, best of all, you are still in control of the funds during your lifetime!

These methods of designating OMM as a beneficiary qualify you as a member of the Tin Man Society. If you have made provision for a gift to be made to OMM upon your death, please contact Charlene Fabian, VP for OMM Development. We want to honor you for your decision and grant you membership in the Tin Man Society.

David Battles is Vice President of the Oklahoma United Methodist Foundation. He can assist you in accomplishing your ultimate goal using these three methods. Please contact him at 800-259-6863 or dbattles@okumf.org.

THREE SIMPLE WAYS TO GIVEBY DAVID BATTLES, CPA

Fall Fright NightThursday, October 13

Spann Patio | 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Wear your Halloween costume and join your friends on the Spann Patio for movie food

and a showing of The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. “You’ll be scared until you laugh yourself silly!”

Space is limited.

PAGE 6 . MANOR MIRROR . OCTOBER 2016

OMM NEIGHBORS

Marilyn Wilson (Crestwood)

Born and raised in Barnsdall, OK, Marilyn knows the meaning of hard work. She milked the cows, fed the chickens and by the time she was in the 5th grade Marilyn and one of her sisters were cooking dinner for the family every night. Marilyn has always loved music. On family trips as a child, Marilyn and her three sisters would sing all the way to every destination. She attended A&M in Stillwater on a music scholarship and became a music teacher in the public school systems for grades 1st through 12th for 27 years. After retirement, Marilyn went on to teach private piano and voice lessons. Other favorite hobbies of Marilyn’s

include gardening, quilting and crochet. She loves cooking and was actively involved at her church helping with fund raising by hosting dinners known as “Mexican Pile-Ons.” Her family still requests and enjoys her famous cheese balls every holiday! Marilyn met her husband Willis Charles Wilson, known to everyone as “Jet” in 1959 at the school where she was a music teacher and he was a football coach. They lived in numerous towns in Texas during their 39 year marriage before he passed away. Prior to moving to OMM in March 2016, Marilyn was living in midtown Tulsa. Moving to OMM has resulted in new friendships and hobbies for Marilyn. Saturday morning swims with family and friends in the Spann Wellness Center pool is a favorite. Marilyn has discovered and joined the member run Ukulele group that meets weekly at OMM. She has already performed with the group as one of the vocalists at the OMM Olio talent show. The show was a hit, thanks in part to this very talented lady.

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS Mary Ann Brockman .................1Roberta Hairston ......................1Donna Keener ..........................4Cynthia McDonald ....................4Philelle McBrayer ......................6Tom Porter ................................6Helen Fidler ..............................6Martha Miller ............................6Lynn Bartlett .............................8Margaret Hammond .................9Carolyn Ehlers ........................14

Alice (Anita) Dewhurst ............14Marilyn Bush ...........................14Mary Damewood ....................15Richard Thompson .................15Sarah Jenkins ..........................16Louise Reid .............................16Jane Waters ............................16Carol Tobler ............................17Marilyn Wilson ........................18Frank Douglass .......................19

Martha Swezey .......................20Evelyn Olson ..........................21Eunice Regier ..........................24David Thomas .........................26Robert Staab ..........................26Sue Duncan ............................27Bruce Nixon ............................27Thomas Danowski ..................28Meredith Gentry .................... 30Virginia Kingsolver ..................31

ANNIVERSARIESJess & Carolyn Evans ......................... Oct. 7, 1950John & Marilyn Berry ........................ Oct. 16, 2012Bill & Helen Pummill ......................... Oct. 16, 1999

Earl & Joanna Tuers .......................... Oct. 19, 2002Steve & Elaine Lance ........................ Oct. 23, 1981

In Memory of: Paul Campbell .............. Sept. 02 Frances Chandler ...........Sept. 02 Marceline Hearn .............Sept. 15 Lee Marecek ...................Sept. 21

Featured Life Enrichment Events

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: SPOT 31Tuesdays, 2:45-4:15 p.m., beginning October 11

Spot 31, a program of St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church on 31st Street near

Garnett Road, serves neighborhood children, over 20% of whom live below the poverty line and at least 1/3 of whom experience food insecurity. Volunteers provide encouragement and one-on-one homework and reading help to early elementary students; the homework is not difficult and the consistent caring and interest is what’s most important. Several OMM Members served Spot 31 last school year and plan to continue. OMM will provide transportation for them and any other volunteering Members, departing campus at 2:45 and returning by 4:15 on Tuesdays, beginning October 11.

If you would like to make a significant difference in a child’s life -- and in your own -- this school year (or a portion of it) by becoming a Spot 31 volunteer, please contact Irene Brown at your earliest convenience at 918-346-6614 or ibrown@ommtulsa.org.

MEN’S CASTING CONTESTThursday, October 6, 6:00 p.m., outdoors by OMM LakeRSVP to the Reservation Hotline by Monday, October 3. You may also request shuttle transportation when you make your reservation.

The weather prevented holding the casting contest at the Men’s Event in June so we’ve rescheduled for a beautiful October evening. Enjoy fellowship and friendly

competition as you aim for the rings in the lake. All equipment will be provided and there will be prizes!

WORLD LAUGHTER TOURMonday, October 10 at 10:30 a.m. and Thursday, November 3 at 1:00 p.m. in Fleming CenterRSVP to the Reservation Hotline at least 48 hours prior to each session.

Trained in the psychology and physiology of laughter, attitudinal healing, and adaptations to special challenges, Jan Brothers, whom we met last month when she and her husband presented a marvelous piano and recorder program at OMM, has been a Certified Laughter Leader since 2008. Her Laughter Therapy program will provide light-to-moderate activities for mental & physical flexibility, mood regulation, stress reduction, and an attitude boost. It will feature true, mirthful laughter in a supportive environment and anyone can participate. Jokes are not used; only the joy of laughing. It’s fun and you’ll leave with a big smile on your face, feeling better all over! Come try it out at either of the two sessions in Fleming Center.

THE TULSA RIVERThursday, October 13, 1:00 p.m. in Fleming Center

The legend and lore of the Arkansas River run through the heart of our city. Ed Rossman, retired after 35 years with the US Army Corps of Engineers in Tulsa, will share the natural and civic story of the river from its beginning millions of years ago in snow packs of the Colorado Rockies, as the river carved its way through the now-buried

Tulsa Mountains, to the promise of A Gathering Place and River Parks. His talk will be illustrated by images from the book The Tulsa River by Ann Patton. (Copies of the book will be available for purchase by cash or check for $30, with half of the proceeds benefitting the Dan Allen Center for Social Justice.)No reservations necessary.

BY IRENE BROWN, LIFE ENRICHMENT COORDINATOR

PAGE 7 . MANOR MIRROR . FOCUS ON INTELLECTAL WELLNESS

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAIDTulsa, OK

Permit No. 1957

CHANGE SERVICEREQUESTED

4134 EAST 31st STREET TULSA, OK 74135

PHONE: 918.743.2565www.ommtulsa.org

In the spirit of Christ, Oklahoma Methodist Manor improves the

quality of life for seniors by providing housing, nutrition and health

care services that meet the physical and spiritual

needs of each member.

Steve Dickie, CEO 918.346.6613

Health & Wellness Services Matt Loyd

918.346.6625

Member ServicesMelanie Fugatt918.346.6651

Contact us about living at Oklahoma Methodist Manor

Residential LivingHomes & Apartments

Cari Owens918.346.6684

Assisted Living Jacob Will

918.346.6630

Skilled Nursing & Health Center

Kathy Clark918.346.6623

OMM Care Line 918.346.6668

© 2016 OMM | If you no longer wish to receive the Manor Mirror, please let us know. Call 918-349-6671 or Email giving@ommtulsa.org.

Oklahoma Methodist Manor 60th Anniversary Open House Sunday, October 23rd, 2016

2:00 - 4:00pm

See Exhibits of our History in CrestwoodHear about our Future in the Fleming Center

OMM Ambassadors will greet you and give you directions to both venues

Light RefreshmentsParking available in front of Crestwood

For information call Dorrine Evans 918.346.66714134 E. 31st Street Tulsa, OK 74135