Retirement Community

Erickson Living named Clara Parker executive director of Charlestown, the continuing care retirement community in Catonsville. The Severna Park resident will be responsible for daily operations on the 110-acre campus on Maiden Choice Lane, where more than 2,000 residents are served by 1,100 employees. Parker had worked as vice president-regional finance director for Erickson Living communities throughout the country. In 2005, she was named director of finance at Oak Crest.

Carmel Quinn, a homemaker and volunteer, died of a heart attack Sunday at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center. The Timonium resident was 83. Born Mary Katherine Carmel Fay in Belturbet, in County Cavan, Ireland, she moved to Baltimore in 1952 after her marriage to Dr. Michael Kevin Quinn, a physician and general practitioner who was also born in her hometown. She worked as a receptionist briefly at Mercy Medical Center after moving to Baltimore. Mrs. Quinn lived in the Hampton section of Towson for many years and played tennis with friends and neighbors.

In response to the article, "Columbia couple, both 100, still going strong" (July 5): Thank you for your recognition of two of our prominent residents, John and Ruby Hill, who have recently turned 100 together. We noticed with dismay that the headline and article call Vantage House an assisted living center. In point of fact, Vantage House is a continuing care retirement community, or CCRC — the only one in Howard County. CCRCs provide a full continuum of care, from independent living apartments, to enhanced living, assisted living, and skilled nursing care.

John E. "Jack" Simms, a retired executive vice president whose career at American Credit Indemnity Co. spanned more than four decades, died Friday from complications of Alzheimer's disease at Stella Maris Hospice. He was 88. The son of a Methodist minister and a homemaker, John Elliott Simms was born in Surry, Va. He was raised in Delaware, Virginia and St. Mary's County, Md., where he graduated in 1940 from Margaret Brent High School in Helen. He moved to Baltimore and went to work as a fireman for the old Pennsylvania Railroad before enlisting in the Army Air Forces.

When letter writer Susan Brown turns 75, sells her family home and moves to a quiet retirement area, she will be better equipped to opine whether or not she thinks a 700-seat elementary school is appropriate in her backyard ("Mays Chapel school would be an asset to the area," March 11). If she is like the several thousand people who actually live here and have signed the petition to stop the building, she quite possibly would even join our protest. The planned unit development to which she refers was signed many years ago, before Mays Chapel North became an area to retire to after you sold your family home.

Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and the other Orioles get four months off between baseball seasons. Joe Flacco, Ray Rice and the world champion Ravens have five months to go before training camp begins. Big-time athletes, after all, need a chance to rest their bodies and minds after the rigors of a long campaign. Then there are the white-clad competitors at Ginger Cove. "We don't want an off-season. We like to keep our skills sharp," says Bill Krause, the 91-year-old Imperial Wicket, or captain, of the croquet club at the retirement community in Annapolis.

Strong opposition by Green Spring Valley residents and Baltimore County officials has forced the Charlestown Retirement Community to abandon plans to build a senior citizens housing development on the edge of the valley.Paul L. Erickson, general counsel for Charlestown, said that company officials decided 10 days ago to drop their effort to have public water and sewerage extended west of Falls Road to service the proposed 2,500-resident development at Falls and Greenspring Valley roads. A letter to that effect was sent to P. David Fields, county planning director.

Anne Arundel County officials announced yesterday a partnership with a Severna Park nonprofit organization that will provide affordable housing for about 160 elderly people.Under the arrangement, the county is donating 10 acres near Cypress Creek Road and Ritchie Highway to Woodswise, a nonprofit group formed by Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church. The group will lease the land to a private corporation, which will build and operate the $10 million retirement community."Woodswise is acting almost as a trustee for the county," said Ardath Cade, the county's human services officer.

Vantage House Life Care Retirement Community has launched a Web site that includes photos and stories of residents and a photo tour of the community, which did an $11 million renovation last year. In Town Center, the not-for-profit retirement community includes 224 residential apartments and a health center for recuperative and emergency assistance or long-term nursing care. Information: 410-964-5454 or www.vantagehouse.org. Central library offering book club for young people The Howard County Central Library, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, will offer Classics for Teens, a new book club for those ages 12 and older.

John Lurz of Bel Air has been promoted continuing care administrator Oak Crest retirement community. Previously, Lurz served as the assisted living manager at the Erickson Living community in northeast Baltimore County. Lurz brings 15 years of health care administration to his new leadership position. With Oak Crest since 2010, he has been a licensed nursing home administrator for more than six years. The extended care neighborhood at Oak Crest provides assisted living, respite care, post-acute rehabilitation and nursing care and outpatient rehabilitation services.

Mary E. Weaver, a former nursery school educator who later managed a Baltimore senior living apartment building, died Feb. 22 of complications from leukemia at Stella Maris Hospice. The longtime Jacksonville-area resident was 82. The daughter of farmers, Mary Elizabeth Hoover was born and raised in Ronks, Pa., in rural Lancaster County. She was a 1948 graduate of East Lamperter High School, and two years later married Kenneth N. Weaver, a geologist. The couple lived in the city's Pimlico neighborhood.

Presbyterian Senior Living plans to build a 36-unit rental senior living community on the grounds on Memorial Stadium, according to a statement released Tuesday by the organization. Heritage Run at Stadium Place should be completed by early spring of next year, the statement said. The apartments will be available to people 62 or older. A model apartment is open for appointment-only visits, the statement said. Presbyterian Senior Living has 29 communities for seniors people throughout the mid-Atlantic.

Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and the other Orioles get four months off between baseball seasons. Joe Flacco, Ray Rice and the world champion Ravens have five months to go before training camp begins. Big-time athletes, after all, need a chance to rest their bodies and minds after the rigors of a long campaign. Then there are the white-clad competitors at Ginger Cove. "We don't want an off-season. We like to keep our skills sharp," says Bill Krause, the 91-year-old Imperial Wicket, or captain, of the croquet club at the retirement community in Annapolis.

Wedding date: Jan. 12, 2013 Her story: Kelli Raia, 26, grew up in Silver Spring. She is a social worker at a retirement community in Catonsville. Her mother, Jeanne, is a stained-glass artist and owns Glimmerglass Stained Glass. Her father, Joe, is a business consultant. His story: Adam Dickson, 27, grew up in Parkville. He works in finance for a retirement community in Silver Spring. His mother, Patricia, owns a vending business and his father, David, is a consultant.

Andree W. Williams, a former Roland Park Country School educator and a gardener, died Jan. 30 of heart failure at the Blakehurst retirement community in Towson. She was 89. Andree Louise Wood was born and raised in Fort Thomas, Ky., where she graduated from high school. She attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. In 1944, she married Samuel C. Williams Sr., an educator, who moved in 1957 to St. Paul's School. The couple lived on the school's Brooklandville campus until moving to Ruxton in the mid-1960s.

Walter Scott Brown, a retired Baltimore & Ohio Railroad civil engineer whose career overseeing the railroad's infrastructure spanned nearly 40 years, died Monday at the Fairhaven retirement community in Sykesville of complications from a fall he suffered last month. Mr. Brown, who family members said "remained sharp until the end of his life," was 106. The son of a building contractor and a homemaker, Walter Scott Brown was born at home in Lafayette Square, where he was raised.

The residents and employees of Oak Crest retirement community in Parkville wanted to do their part to cheer on the Ravens before the Baltimore team plays in the Super Bowl this Sunday. What would be the best way to get their message out? YouTube, of course. The 90-second video called "Super Dreams" released Wednesday, captures the thrill of being introduced before the big game through the eyes of Gene Miller, a 71-year old resident of Oak Crest.  Miller roots for the Ravens with his fellow residents and then shows off his dance steps in the big moment, ala a certain future Hall of Famer middle linebacker.