One couple’s life-changing move to Chapel Pointe
A joyful song resonates down the hall from Carlyle and Madeline Kilmore’s apartment daily. A speckling of voices join in throughout the building, but there’s no doubt; the Kilmores enjoy the time of community.
“Every morning, when the [Chapel Pointe] pastor leads his devotion on TV, we open our doors and sing along to the first song,” explained Carlyle. Madeline jokes that the hall choir makes a joyful noise unto the Lord.
Where others see closed doors, the Kilmores see opportunities. They’re not the type of people to allow a worldwide pandemic to squelch their retirement plans.
When they moved to Chapel Pointe in March 2020, much of the country was operating under stay-at-home orders.
“Moving in the middle of the pandemic has been a tough change,” said Carlyle. But Chapel Pointe is well worth the move.
“Maintenance has been super. They have helped tremendously during and after the move,” said Madeline. The maintenance team offers two free hours of help after residents move in to hang pictures, clean up boxes, or place furniture.
Because Chapel Pointe offers maintenance-free living, this team is always just a phone call away to fix appliances, replace light bulbs, tweak the air conditioner, or generally take care of needs inside or outside of the home.
Pandemic Lifestyle
Carlyle and Madeline have spent the past 28 years in retirement serving and volunteering in many different fashions. They spent many winters in Orlando, Fla., serving at Wycliffe Associates where they helped with information technology (IT) tasks, worked the front desk, and did just about anything else they could do to help. The Kilmores have also volunteered at Delta Lake Bible Conference Center in Rome, N.Y., and have embarked on overseas missions trips including a two year trip to Malaysia and one year in Ecuador.
As they transition to an amenity-rich lifestyle at Chapel Pointe, they plan to be just as service-minded, volunteering with IT during Chapel services and visiting with residents in Personal Care and the Households.
The pandemic has put those dreams on hold, but only for the moment.
The Kilmores are still making the most of everything they can. By sitting on their porch and stopping everyone who crosses their path, they have managed to meet many people.
Though masks and six or more feet of distance cloud their view, Carlyle and Madeline have an uncanny ability to connect names and faces, making those who stop to say “hello” glad they spared a few minutes.
The couple looks forward to apartment dinners, using the fitness center, checking out books from the library, bus trips, and game nights in the community room. Recently, a women’s prayer group restarted, and Madeline was one of the first to attend.
Though restaurants closed during the spring, Carlyle and Madeline have always enjoyed dining out together and with friends. Ordering meals from Chapel Pointe’s Heritage Gardens Café and getting free delivery to their home gave them a taste of eating out.
The Kilmores have also taken advantage of Chapel Pointe’s free grocery delivery during this time. Even when community members struggled to find toilet paper, tissues, or meat, Chapel Pointe residents remained well-stocked.
Throughout their lives, the Kilmores have seen God provide for their every need, and now that they live at Chapel Pointe, that blessing has continued, even through a worldwide pandemic.
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Other amenities that residents, like the Kilmores, have appreciated while they
were staying at home at Chapel Pointe included:
- Dinner deliveries from the main kitchen.
- Scheduled private transportation to run essential errands, such as to the pharmacy or bank drivethroughs.
- Home cleaning services.
- A standard monthly fee promising a consistent cost of living, regardless of the state of the economy.
- As a non-profit, Chapel Pointe’s benevolence fund ensures that residents will always have a comfortable home and the care they need, regardless of their income or the status of their stock portfolio.
- During a time when people are visiting one another less, the 24/7 medical alert system guarantees a quick response in case of an emergency.