Active Aging

81-year-old Indra David is a hard lady to track down. From attending community events to working out at the fitness center to playing bridge with a loving group of close friends, David doesn’t spend much time in her apartment at Westminster Place in Evanston.

And that’s just the way she likes it.

“Everyone teases me about my social life,” laughs David, who moved to Westminster Place two years ago after the death of her husband and after living in North Carolina for 15 years. “It can be really hard to get a hold of me. I’m just never home.”

It’s a life that David relishes now, but a life that she often wondered she would have this late in the game. Having retired from a career in academia, David moved to Evanston not only to be closer to family, but in the hopes that she could find a Life Plan Community that she could call home while she was still healthy and independent.

“I want to say that I visited four different places,” she recalls. “I would even attend dinner at each place just so I could get a real feel about the residents and the community. I was the decision maker and that made me feel like I was in control.”

Of course, when she walked into Westminster Place, she says she knew she had found the perfect place.

“I just felt like the people were just like me,” she recalls. “It just felt like home.”

Indeed, Westminster Place in Evanston is home to countless people who have found solace in their decision to live in one of the most highly regarded independent living Life Plan Communities on Chicago’s North Shore. With more than 40 acres of serene landscape and lush gardens, Westminster Place, a Presbyterian Homes community, is highly regarded from generation to generation.

“I went from a four-bedroom house on a lake in North Carolina to a one-bedroom apartment here at Westminster Place, but it really doesn’t feel all that different,” she says. “When I want my private time, I can still have it. But when I want to see my friends, I don’t have to go very far.”

And while she could have chosen to live with family members that now live close by, she remains stringent in the fact that she doesn’t ever want to become a burden to them. Therefore, she made the choice to move specifically into one of Westminster Place’s Life Plan Communities, which essentially offers her continuing care no matter how her life changes in the coming years.

“I know that at some point, I might need more help,” says David, who currently resides in an independent living apartment home. “I know that at some point, I might have some memory or physical issues. That time is not here yet, but if that time comes, I want my transition to assisted living to be a seamless one. I want to go gently from one area to another.”

This not only gives her peace of mind, but also gives it to her loving family.

“Gosh, I don’t want them worrying about me,” she laughs. “And since I am here, they don’t have to worry about me at all. I’m just fine.”

Indeed, David says she looks forward to all of the busy days ahead of her, including this one in particular.

“There are just so many amenities to enjoy,” she says, as her voice begins to trail towards other things. “I would love to keep talking, but I have a lot to do.”

You go girl!

Westminster Place is located at 3200 Grant Street in Evanston. For more information, call 847-492-7348, or visit WestminsterPlace.org.