Our Donors and the Difference They Have Made

Click on any of the following links to view donor stories we’ve collected that provide a sense of how donor contributions to The Easton Home, part of the Presbyterian Senior Living network of communities, can impact our residents’ daily lives.

The Warkala Family

A magnificent gift from the heart of a grateful family has made a major impact at The Easton Home.

Vincent Warkala – high school basketball standout, Purple Heart-awarded major in WWII, and professional nursing home administrator – spent the last five years of his life at The Easton Home prior to his death in 2007.  (His wife Ann had predeceased him while at our sister facility, the Kirkland Village Health Center.)

In December 2006, Vincent and his son Glenn began to think about a gift in gratitude for the happy years Vincent and his wife had experienced with us.  A charitable gift annuity seemed a wonderful way to support our mission and also provide a regular income stream for Vincent.  (At age 89, the 11% interest rate for a CGA was a very attractive option, as was leaving the remainder – a portion – of the gift to us.)  “With the positive experience my mother had at Kirkland, and my father at The Easton Home, I was pleased to learn he could make a gift that would help the organization as well as him,” said Glenn.

Then, in January 2007, as the gift annuity agreement was ready to be signed, Vincent died.  In calling to announce this news, Glenn said simply, “I was wondering whether, since we haven’t signed the paperwork, we can just make it a direct gift to your organization.  That way you get to keep all the money.”

This wonderful gift from Vincent Warkala enabled The Easton Home to achieve three long-held dreams for our residents. Its inner Garden Courtyard was re-landscaped with a soothing waterfall pond complete with koi, beautiful perennials, new seating, and a fountain, enticing more residents to enjoy the benefits of outdoors.

The second part of the gift was used to complete the unique and popular Memory Lane project in two rooms in the secure Chapelwood unit.  Here, in what had been a plain but functional dining room, three underutilized rooms, and unadorned corridors, Paul Cercone envisioned wall murals, vintage furnishings, nostalgic items, and historical memorabilia to stimulate the minds and the memories of residents with Alzheimer’s Disease.  The Warkala family gift enabled Paul to complete and furnish the 1940s living room with period wallpaper, carpeting, vintage glider rockers, a mural fireplace, and an antique radio.  A mural window gives a four-season view of the world, and a wedding photo of Vincent and Ann Warkala completes the scene.  Adjoining it, the 1930s country kitchen is similarly finished with a vintage hutch, wringer washer, stove, and icebox.

Residents are entranced by the beauty of the murals, and families are amazed at the workmanship of the Memory Lane project.  Touring with their loved one, they will stand and talk about it together and share their experiences.  “It reminds me of the old days; it makes me happy,” says Elizabeth, a resident.  “The Easton Home is an absolutely wonderful place for my mother to be,” says a daughter of another Chapelwood resident.

And best of all?  The third portion and majority of the Warkala family gift was used to establish an endowment fund for charitable care for residents at The Easton Home, called The Easton Home Fund.  “Our commitment to charitable care was more than $275,000 in 2008 alone,” said Paul Cercone.  “This new endowment fund is bringing incredible peace of mind to our residents and their families.  We loved Vincent.  We will be forever grateful to the Warkala family.”