Carlton Senior Living News and Insights

Carlton Senior Living | August 30, 2020

Warren and Joann Smith Celebrate 64 Years of Marriage in Downtown Pleasant Hill

This couple from Carlton Senior Living Downtown Pleasant Hill proudly celebrated 64 years of marriage on August 29, 2020. It all started at the annual picnic at Humboldt State University where Joann came with a friend of hers in a bright red sports car. Warren came to the picnic with a friend and case of beer. When he saw Joann sitting in that red sports car, he offered her a beer. She accepted and their wonderful life started together. That summer, Warren had to go to Washington state for work but he decided to come back. Joann remembers having a quick wedding in Reno, Nevada as football season was about to begin for Coach Warren. Together t …

Carlton Senior Living | August 23, 2020

"Life Isn’t Always Easy, But It Can Be Fulfilling: Bill Rainford's Story" by Harriett Burt

Life Isn’t Always Easy, But It Can Be Fulfilling: Bill Rainford’s Story Carlton is not the first place Bill Rainford has lived in the neighborhood dominated by Taylor Boulevard, Pleasant Hill Road and Alhambra Avenue. A few years ago he owned a condo on Ridgeview Court, which is located near Carlton. But he has also resided in an impressive number of other neighborhoods across the country and overseas for much of his life before ending up twice, so to speak, in Pleasant Hill. Rainford is the name of a village in the northwest of England formerly famous as a producer of clay pipes. His paternal grandfather grew up there leaving in the 1890s to …

Carlton Senior Living | August 17, 2020

Carlton Elk Grove Couple Celebrates 66th Wedding Anniversary!

Carlton Senior Living congratulates Billey and Katherine Tuttle of Elk Grove on 66 years of marriage! The beautiful couple celebrated their lasting love with a special date night. And they didn’t have to travel far — the Elk Grove team brought the celebration to the Tuttle’s by picking up one of their favorite meals and playing a movie just for them in the theater room at Carlton Senior Living Elk Grove. Congratulations Billey and Katherine! 🥂 Here’s to another year of being great together. Please join us in wishing them well on Carlton Senior Living’s Facebook page.

Carlton Senior Living | August 10, 2020

Carlton's Virtual Career Conference

Join us for our Virtual Career Conference via Zoom Monday, August 24th 1PM – 2PM This event is completely virtual and will be presented through Zoom. Space is limited, email Ashley Melendez at amelendez@carltonseniorliving.com to RSVP. We’re hiring for a variety of positions to provide services to our Assisted Living, Memory Care and Independent Living residents at our Downtown Pleasant Hill, Pleasant Hill, Poet’s Corner and Concord communities. View available positions and apply online at CarltonSeniorLiving.com/Careers Share this event via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1583742881784175/ If you have any questions, please email As …

Carlton Senior Living | August 9, 2020

"Chickens, Eggs and the Broody House" from the Memoirs of James Thompson Sr.

“The Story of the Old House” is just one of the many short stories from the memoirs of James Thompson Sr., a resident of Carlton Senior Living San Jose. Written during the 1970s, Thompson’s writings illustrate what life was like as a child growing up in the small town of Dyer, Indiana during the 1930s. Dyer is a town in St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana and is a southeastern suburb of Chicago. According to census records, the population of Dyer was just 672 in 1930 and had increased to 976 by 1940. “Chicken, Eggs and the Broody House” by James Thompson Sr Every spring we got a hundred baby chicks and raised them in the garage. Sometimes …

Carlton Senior Living | August 2, 2020

Resident Spotlight - Peggy Raftery

Peggy posed with Resident Liaison, Ben, during Carlton Davis’ Halloween celebration. Margaret “Peggy” Kellogg Raftery was born on December 6, 1932 in Woodland, California to parents Neal and Myrtle Kellogg. As an only child, she learned to entertain herself and her favorite childhood memories are of the arts and crafts she came up with. She enjoyed drawing, coloring books, which were big at the time, and making paper dolls. Peggy attended Chico High School. She had always known that she wanted to become an artist and she chose art as her elective all four years there. She won a scholarship to the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakla …

Carlton Senior Living | July 19, 2020

“You Don’t Meet General MacArthur But I’d See Him…” by Harriett Burt

Japan at the end of WWII Is Just One Part of Blanche Perry’s Active Life When Blanche Perry moved to Carlton Pleasant Hill-Martinez from Carlton Concord last December, she already had friends here. But along with her belongings, she also brought her life story with her. One of the most interesting chapters covers February 1950 to February 1952 which she spent in Occupied Japan as the wife of an Army Air Force rear gunner assigned to the crew of the two airplanes used by five-star General Douglas MacArthur, head of the U.S. occupation of Japan at the end of World War II. When asked if she ever met the aloof General of the Armies, the answer is …

Carlton Senior Living | July 5, 2020

Resident Spotlight - Bob Fox

Meet Carlton Senior Living spotlight resident, Bob Fox – Robert “Bob” Fox was born on December 6, 1943 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to parents Darlene Blumenberg and Henry Fox. He has one brother, Jim. Bob went to high school in Birmingham, Michigan. Bob knew from a young age that he wanted to become an attorney. He attended the University of Minnesota for his bachelor’s and then went to law school at Duke University. He practiced law for a few years before deciding that he wanted to do something different. In 1972 he became a founding faculty member at Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis. Over the next thirty-five years, he helped deve …

Carlton Senior Living | June 29, 2020

"Why I Wait For the Bus in Front of Carlton" by Elma Blaud

“It’s the people, the dear people,” says Elma Blaud, a resident of Carlton Senior Living. “I like to sit (and I arrive early so that I can) under the apple tree – oh no, no, that is still another story,” Elma, a life-long lover of music says jokingly. “Back to square one. I like to sit under the overhang at the front of the Carlton Senior Living San Jose community. My reason: I wish to be the first person to enter the bus! Why? You ask – because I want to observe all the beauty of San Jose and the surrounding views as we glide to our destination, whether it be Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, Watsonville, etc. They are all beautiful and most intere …

Carlton Senior Living | June 28, 2020

"At Home in the World of Animals and of People" by Harriett Burt

“There’s nothing more daunting than taking a blood sample from a lion,” Carlton Senior Living Pleasant Hill-Martinez resident and retired veterinarian Denny Bohlke observes. He ought to know because his Yakima office was close enough to a retired circus animal ranch to hear them roaring and to make a ‘home visit’ from time to time. Oh, by the way, how do you take the sample? From its tail, he says. Denny was born in 1931 and grew up on a 12-acre farm near Yakima. His dad was a fruit inspector in Washington’s largest fruit growing area. It was the beginning of the Great Depression so keeping the wolf from the door meant everybody in the family …

Assisted Living | June 3, 2020

Breakfast is Served!

This eggs-quisite breakfast from Carlton Senior Living San Leandro is an egg-cellent way to celebrate National Egg Day – Wednesday, June 3. Whether you prefer your eggs scrambled, fried, or over easy, we recommend approaching each day sunny side up. During the Shelter-in-Place Order we’ve been delivering freshly prepared meals for residents to enjoy in their apartments.

Carlton Senior Living | May 17, 2020

Resident Spotlight - Elsie Gabby

Meet Carlton Senior Living spotlight resident, Elsie Gabby – Elsie Jane (Bradbury) Gabby was born December 22, 1946 to parents Clara and Byron Bradbury. She has five younger siblings: Robert, Shirley, David, Sharon, and Brian. Her family home was in Johnson City, New York, a rural village along the New York/Pennsylvania border. She has wonderful memories of her childhood. Johnson City is “kind of a country town” and they spent lots of time outdoors and lived in a wonderful, big house. She enjoyed climbing trees and eating popsicles with her friends. She fondly remembers another friend who would bring her oranges. Elsie and her siblings were c …