Iris Ivers
Iris Ivers enjoyed a healthy and fulfilling retirement until an unexpected illness propelled her to move to a continuing care retirement community. “Some friends of mine from Concordia, the 55+ community where I lived in Monroe, had moved to Applewood and raved about it,” Iris recalls. “After I was feeling better, I toured the community with my step-daughter and decided to look no further.”
The former deputy chief of the copy desk at Sports Illustrated magazine didn’t toil back and forth about “should I or shouldn’t I make a move?”
She selected a fully-renovated 1-bedroom Poplar apartment and moved on June 11, 2019.
“The location of my new apartment is perfect for me ─ it’s close to the Coffee Lounge, where you can find me every morning enjoying my favorite brew.”
One of the first things she did was host a birthday party, inviting old friends from Monroe and new friends from Applewood.
Meeting new people with common interests
“I’ve met many interesting people,” Iris explains. She says she’s also forged a special kinship with people who share her love of the arts.
Iris has already presented a well-attended art exhibit of some multi-faceted works by her late husband, George Ivers, a professional artist who was a designer of dinnerware for Lennox and later became the art director of Cybis Porcelain in Trenton.
Her first priority was to join the twice-weekly Bridge group. She also attends the Lifelong Learning on-site courses and lectures.
“I feel like I’m back in college again,” the Schenectady, New York, native says with a laugh.
Hitting the road for weekly guided adventures
She also takes advantage of weekly day trips to interesting regional destinations. This week, she’ll travel to the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey to tour working cranberry bogs.
“These are excursions I probably wouldn’t do on my own.”
She also attends the Poetry Club and has contributed articles and poems to the resident-run monthly newsletter, The Spicy Apple.
Iris says there’s so much to do at Applewood, she hasn’t had time to fully unpack.
“I’m honestly super-busy and that’s just fine with me.”