Story and Photo by Van Mitchel, Staff Writer

There may not be a better endorsement for Villagio of Bradford Village located at 300 Enz Drive in Edmond than long-time resident Hulda Hamilton.
Mrs. Hamilton, 99, has been a resident for 30 years in both the Independent Living cottages and now Assisted Living at Villagio of Bradford Village.
She and her late husband Bill Hamilton moved to Villagio of Bradford Village to simplify their lives, and to travel when they wanted.
“We liked to travel. We did not just want to depend on our kids to take care of things when we were gone because we were gone quite a lot,” she said. “We’d just never know when we were going to go to Australia or go to Hawaii or go to Eastern Europe. It’s the most stress-free life you could have, to live here. It is completely stress-free.”
Villagio of Bradford Village offers Independent Living cottages which are designed around residents’ personal history, cultural heritage, and interests.
Assisted Living offers residents a little extra support when needed for a successful aging journey, attentive, 24-hour caregivers are available to help with many of the activities of daily living.
“There isn’t a person that works in this building that doesn’t like old people,” Mrs. Hamilton said. “Every person employed here loves old people. I am convinced of that because they are so kind.”
Respite Care Services are also available at Villagio of Bradford Village giving caregivers a needed break, and ensuring their loved ones have safe care.
Caitlin Cairns, Director of Community Life, said Mrs. Hamilton is one example of how seniors living in Independent Living cottages transition to Assisted Living care successfully.
“Hulda and a lot of our other residents started out in the community in some of the cottages around here,” she said. “Hulda lived in her cottage for 29 years. She decided that it was time to move here to just get that little extra bit of support. We’ve had a lot of residents do that. They will live in the cottages and be members of the community for years. Sometimes people choose to stay in our cottages and have home health come in to assist if they need it. Or sometimes people choose to move to assisted living if they need a little more support.”
The Assisted Living wing was built in 2000.
“This place is different from most senior places,” Mrs. Hamilton said. “It was built with Christian principles. I was living in Edmond when this place was built. I came to the opening ceremony. The people that moved here all try to help each other. Everybody here is friends. If they don’t see somebody, they want to know why. If they do see somebody, they want to know how you are doing. Everybody here cares about you.”
Mrs. Hamilton said she and Bill knew they wanted to come to Villagio of Bradford Village to live when they were ready to give up their home.
“We knew what this place was all the time,” she said. “I had friends here. Even before I got together with Bill, I knew when I got ready to retire, this was where I would come. I just loved the place.”
Mrs. Hamilton said she and Bill loved to go round dancing.
“Round dancing is ballroom dancing to cues. You have a leader, a teacher. He could be on the floor dancing, or he could just use a microphone,” she said. “He tells you what steps to take with each movement. If it’s a waltz, he’ll tell you what type of waltz, what step to do. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Mrs. Hamilton said one of the attributes she cherished about Bill was his desire to give back.
“I loved his absolute unselfishness and thinking to help others,” she said. “Whatever he could do to help somebody else. He volunteered for everything there was to volunteer. He volunteered with the church, he volunteered at the hospital, he volunteered to be a driver for Mobile Meals. Finally, he couldn’t drive anymore because he was losing his vision, so they asked me to drive, so I did. I drove too. Anybody that needed assistance, he worked for. That was his life.”
Cairns said each new resident in the Villagio of Bradford Village community is welcomed with a personal gift.
“Every time a resident move into the community, we get them a personalized ornament and it has something to do with a story from their life,” she said. “Hulda’s is a glass etching of a couple dancing together. We have somebody else that is a neuropsychologist, and I found an ornament that is a metal sculpture in the shape of a dopamine molecule. We find the most unique things and then we use those to decorate a resident Christmas tree together. Then we keep them from year to year. Hulda’s had her ornament for several years and whoever is moved in, in the past year will get a new ornament presented to them this year. We just keep them and keep adding them.”
Cairns said the ornaments are displayed even after a resident has passed away.
“If a resident passed during the year, we move their ornaments,” she said. “We have memorial wreaths that we keep with their ornaments. The ornament tradition is one of my favorite things here.”
Mrs. Hamilton is not alone at Villagio of Bradford Village. Her children ages 79, 78, and 76 live nearby; one of them (Frances Ray) resides in an independent living cottage with her husband.
“I have children who are very caring and helpful. My only success in life is my kids. I just could not do it without them,” she said. “How many parents get to celebrate their kids’ lives in their late seventies? See how blessed I am.”
Mrs. Hamilton said faith has guided her through her lifetime.
“God has been with me 99 years and He’s not going to forget me,” she said. “I still have a life, and I’ll do the best I can with it.”

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR