Carlton Senior Living Blog - What’s Happening at Carlton

Carlton Senior Living Blog | February 21, 2021

Iris & Ivan: Celebrating 59 Years of Marriage This Spring

Ivan and Iris Seppala celebrated their 58th anniversary last May. The same month they moved from their Clayton home of 47 years to Carlton Pleasant Hill-Martinez. The couple had met in the early 1950s at the Apostolic Lutheran Church in Rosburg, Washington. Ivan admits he wasn’t too impressed at the time with the slight Canadian girl. But two years later, when she came to a church gathering in Seattle, he saw Iris much differently. “She asked how us folks were doing,” he recalls. “Seriously, she cared about people.” Iris replied with the practicality her upbringing had instilled in her. “I was in nursing school. I wasn’t looking for a man.” H …

Resident Spotlights | February 14, 2021

John & Charlotte: Celebrating 70 Years of Love

Charlotte was born in Omaha, Nebraska and grew up in both Nebraska and Minnesota until she moved to San Jose, California in the fifth grade. One of her favorite childhood memories is being a Campfire Girl in Big Basin. She has been married to her husband John since August 1951. This year with be their 70th wedding anniversary! Together they have two children and two grandchildren. Charlotte’s previous occupation was a teacher. She started teaching second and third graders but soon got moved to teaching twelfth-grade math. Charlotte used to play both the piano and violin. She enjoys the group activities at Carlton Fremont. Her husband John wou …

Carlton Senior Living | February 8, 2021

Resident Spotlight - Geoffrey Harmer

Geoffrey Harmer was born April 17, 1936 in Greenville, a small community in Plumas County, in northeastern California. Geoff’s parents, Millie and Ralph, were high school teachers. His father taught music and was a public school administrator. He is an only child. Geoff was a Boy Scout and eventually achieved the rank of Eagle Scout; becoming an Eagle Scout is his favorite childhood memory. After their time in Greenville, Geoff’s family moved to the small town of Quincy, where he attended high school. After graduating, he studied industrial engineering at Stanford University. With his degree, he became an assembly engineer and worked at vario …

Carlton Senior Living Blog | January 10, 2021

"Paul Moser: Part of An Invasion that Fortunately Never Happened," by Harriett Burt

A short story from one of Carlton’s many veterans as written by Carlton Pleasant Hill-Martinez resident, Harriett Burt. Paul Moser graduated in 1942 from Pittsburg High School (California), a US Steel mill town across the country from the original US Steel mill in Pittsburg, (Pennsylvania). He and his three best friends signed up for the service in 1943, Paul choosing the US Navy’s V-12 program which trained young enlistees to be Naval officers. He took ‘basic training’ at San Mateo Junior College and was accepted to Midshipman School at Northwestern University in Chicago. It was a 90-day training program. When asked if that made him a ’90-da …

Resident Spotlights | January 3, 2021

Resident Spotlight - John VerWey

Meet John VerWey, Carlton Senior Living’s spotlight resident – John was born on July 11, 1930 to parents Anna and Bert VerWey in Inwood, Iowa. His parents were Dutch immigrants who worked on a rented farm. John has three sisters—Susan, Anna-Mae, and Bernice—and one brother, Richard. John lived in Inwood until 1950 when he joined the United States Air Force. He served for three years and was stationed in Rapid City, South Dakota. While in the Air Force, John met his wife, Evelyn. She came to the airbase with a friend of hers who was dating a friend of his. John’s friend set them up on a blind date; John says he knew almost immediately that she …

Carlton Senior Living Blog | December 27, 2020

Arnold and Josephine Banta - A Thank You to the Entire Carlton Staff

Dear Tracey, Evelyn, and the Entire Carlton Staff, On behalf of the entire family, I wanted to send you a formal thank you to everyone at Carlton Downtown Pleasant Hill. I apologize that it has taken a long time for me to actually get around to finishing it. I don’t think that there are adequate words or gestures that can express our immense gratitude for everything that the Carlton Team did for my mom and dad. From September of 2016 to June of 2020, everyone at Carlton did everything to make sure that my parents had a safe and comfortable time during their final years Arnie and Jo were just shy of their 97th and 96th birthdays when they mov …

Carlton Senior Living Blog | December 18, 2020

Welcome Claudia Graetsch-Vasquez!

As we near the end of 2020 we wish to express our gratitude for who the year has brought into the Carlton Senior Living family. Among these individuals we welcome onboard Claudia Graetsch-Vasquez as our new Dietitian and Nutritionist for all Carlton Senior Living communities. We invite you to read more about how Claudia first became interested in the field of nutrition, what motivates her, the thing she is looking forward to most and how she chooses to “live her life.” Claudia attended Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill directly after graduating high school to complete some undergraduate work. She then transferred to Cal Poly State Univer …

Carlton Senior Living Blog | December 17, 2020

Welcome to Carlton Senior Living Fremont’s newly designed Suite 100

Welcome to Carlton Senior Living Fremont’s newly designed Suite 100. Located within our Fremont community, Suite 100 allows residents to live in a smaller, more intimate atmosphere. With 24-hour care staffing to serve only four residents, we’re providing companionship in addition to wellness in a home-like setting. We invite you to schedule a virtual tour of our Communities to learn more about the enriching lifestyle Carlton provides for seniors and their families throughout Northern California. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMBBjM-g5s8

Resident Spotlights | December 13, 2020

"Eileen Callahan: Typefaces, printing presses, books galore and ink, these are among her favorite things…"

Eileen Callahan was born in Ohio and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, the middle child in a family of four girls and two boys. Her father worked in public relations in New York City and her mother was a nurse. Eileen was a voracious reader who knew about San Francisco’s City Lights Book Store and its owner, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, long before she came to San Francisco. That love of reading and writing and encouraging both activities by becoming a publisher here caused her to live most of her life quite happily in the Bay Area. Telling her mother on Saturday mornings that she was going to the Stamford Library, Eileen instead hopped on a train t …

Carlton Associates & Career News | December 7, 2020

Wherever Sherrilynn Geban's needed, she is there with a genuine smile and a can-do attitude

The way we work and live has changed in so many ways since the pandemic was officially declared in March. One thing that has remained the same is Carlton’s focus on our residents’ and associates’ health and safety. Sherrilynn Geban, Memory Care Programming Specialist, has stepped up with her genuine smile and can-do attitude to help keep our communities healthy and running smoothly. A member of Carlton’s Home Office team, Sherrilynn has been working the frontlines in our Communities when needed. Whether she’s responding to resident calls, sanitizing surfaces, taking temperatures, or simply lending a listening ear, Sherrilynn is using her Care …

Carlton Senior Living Blog | December 6, 2020

Resident Spotlight - Lou & Phyllis Isaacson

Louis “Lou” Isaacson was born on January 20, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois to parents Stan and Jerene Isaacson. He had one younger brother, Bob. Lou’s family moved to Washington, D.C. in 1940 after his father got a job with the Navy. He went to elementary and high school in D.C. He studied chemistry at the University of Maryland and then physical chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Phyllis Wolfson Isaacson was born on May 17, 1938 in Boston, Massachusetts to parents Leonard and Beth Wolfson. She has one younger sister, Norma. Phyllis grew up in Boston. She fondly remembers playing the piano for many high school shows and plays …

Carlton Senior Living | December 1, 2020

Join us in supporting the Alzheimer's Association this #GivingTuesday

Please join us in supporting the Alzheimer’s Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research this #GivingTuesday. Carlton is proud to support the Alzheimer’s Association each year and in 2020 our associates have raised over $13,800 for the cause. Help end Alzheimer’s and make a donation through Carlton’s Team Portal. Associates and residents at the 2019 Walk to End Alzheimer’s in San Ramon, California.