 Home | Recent News | Newton | The Bakers 02 Dec 2007 Bakers view gift as investment in home improvement |  | Bob and Betty Baker's gift is an investment in "home improvement." They've experienced first hand the value of having multiple levels of living at the Manor. | |
When Bob and Betty Baker first toured Presbyterian Manor two years ago, they fully intended to move into one of the cottages. Then their hostess invited them to look at an apartment. Betty describes their delight. “Bob said, ‘We have a house, do we really need another house?’” They immediately took the apartment. “There’s an outside entrance, a carport just across the drive ... very convenient. It was easy to make the decision,” she said. The Bakers had spent their entire working lives operating their large cattle ranch near Elbing, Kan. In 1992, with the ranch in the capable hands of a resident manager and
Bob’s brother who lived across the road, Bob and Betty decided it was time to retire and move to Newton. But four years later, with their ranch manager leaving and the farm still needing personal attention, they were ready to come out of retirement. “We decided we wanted to go back to the farm,” said Bob. “We lived there another 11 years.” Then one September day, the realities of growing older and working a large farm caught up with him. “I had a stroke,” Bob said. “I couldn’t take care of it. My brother had died, and it was more than I could handle.” Although the Bakers were aware of Presbyterian Manor and the accomplishments of the Rev. Dr. George Nelson, they didn’t know anyone here. Betty had once accompanied Bob’s great-aunt on a visit years ago, and she remembered how impressed she was with its continuum of care philosophy. “To me that said something,” she said. So in March 2006, the Bakers moved into their apartment at Presbyterian Manor, and it’s been home ever since. Although relative newcomers to this community, they gave generously ($25,000) to the Shaping Tomorrow campaign. “We had a little extra money and felt this was an ideal place to put it,” said Bob. “They need donations to keep it functioning.” Betty sees it as somewhat of an investment in their own futures. “They need to keep health care up because there’s so much need for that,” she said. “Like Bob said, he had a stroke. You never know when you might need it.”
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